Pihlajalinna Interim report 1 January–30 September 2022 (9 months)
Pihlajalinna Plc Interim Report 4 November 2022 at 8:00 a.m.
Pihlajalinna Interim report 1 January–30 September 2022 (9 months)
Revenue increased considerably, investments in the service network and recruitments weakened profitability
This interim report is unaudited. The comparison figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in the previous year.
A brief look at July–September:
- Revenue amounted to EUR 165.2 (140.6) million – an increase of EUR 24.6 million, or 17.5 per cent.
- COVID-19 services¹⁾ revenue amounted to EUR 2.3 (11.8) million – a decrease of EUR -9.5 million.
- Organic growth was EUR 4.6 million, or 3.3 per cent. Without COVID-19 services the organic growth would have been EUR 14.0 million, or 10.0 per cent.
- The effect of M&A transactions²⁾ on revenue growth was EUR 20.0 million, or 14.3 per cent.
- Adjusted EBITDA³⁾ was EUR 18.9 (19.3) million – a decrease of -2.5 per cent.
- Adjusted EBITA³⁾ before the amortisation and impairment of intangible assets was EUR 9.4 (12.3) million – a decrease of -23.5 per cent.
- Earnings per share (EPS) was EUR 0.14 (0.31).
- Private clinic customer volumes⁴⁾ grew by 47 per cent year-on-year (grew by 16 per cent without M&A transactions), with remote services representing 45 per cent of all appointments.
A brief look at January–September:
- Revenue amounted to EUR 502.1 (423.1) million – an increase of EUR 79.0 million, or 18.7 per cent.
- COVID-19 services¹⁾ revenue amounted to EUR 13.9 (28.8) million – a decrease of EUR -14.9 million.
- Organic growth was EUR 23.4 million, or 5.5 per cent. Without COVID-19 services and the effects of the District Court of Central Finland’s decision in the case of Jämsän Terveys Oy, the organic growth would have been EUR 38.3 million, or 9.6 per cent.
- The effect of M&A transactions²⁾ on revenue growth was EUR 55.6 million, or 13.1 per cent.
- Adjusted EBITDA³⁾ was EUR 52.2 (50.4) million – an increase of 3.5 per cent.
- Adjusted EBITA³⁾ before the amortisation and impairment of intangible assets was EUR 24.4 (29.5) million – a decrease of -17.1 per cent.
- Earnings per share (EPS) was EUR 0.45 (0.70).
- Private clinic customer volumes⁴⁾ grew by 40 per cent year-on-year (grew by 10 per cent without M&A transactions). Remote services represented 43 per cent of all appointments.
¹⁾ COVID-19 services include COVID-19 testing, sample collection, vaccination and other potential services directly related to managing the COVID-19 pandemic.
²⁾ Työterveys Virta Oy 1 April 2021, Pohjola Sairaala Oy 1 February 2022, Etelä-Savon Työterveys Oy 1 April 2022, Lääkärikeskus Ikioma Oy 1 April 2022, Punkkibussi® -business 1 April 2022
³⁾ Alternative performance measure. In addition to the IFRS figures, Pihlajalinna presents additional, alternative perfomance indicators which company monitors internally and which provide the company management, investors, stock market analysts and other stakeholders with important additional information concerning the company’s financial perfomance, financial position and cash flows. These performance indicators should not be reviewed separate from the IFRS figures and they should not be considered to replace the IFRS figures.
⁴⁾ Excluding municipal outsourcing arrangements and COVID-19 testing
| 7–9/2022 | 7–9/2021¹⁾ | change % | 1–9/2022 | 1–9/2021¹⁾ | change % | 2021 | |
| 3 months | 3 months | 9 months | 9 months | ||||
| INCOME STATEMENT | |||||||
| Revenue, EUR million | 165.2 | 140.6 | 17.5 | 502.1 | 423.1 | 18.7 | 577.8 |
| EBITDA, EUR million | 18.1 | 18.2 | -0.7 | 42.9 | 48.1 | -10.7 | 62.6 |
| EBITDA, % | 10.9 | 12.9 | -15.5 | 8.6 | 11.4 | -24.8 | 10.8 |
| Adjusted EBITDA, EUR million ²⁾ | 18.9 | 19.3 | -2.5 | 52.2 | 50.4 | 3.5 | 65.3 |
| Adjusted EBITDA, % ²⁾ | 11.4 | 13.8 | -17.0 | 10.4 | 11.9 | -12.8 | 11.3 |
| Adjusted EBITDA excluding IFRS 16, EUR million 12 months ²⁾ | 12.6 | 15.3 | -17.6 | 45.3 | 50.5 | -10.3 | 49.3 |
| Operating profit (EBIT), EUR million | 6.6 | 9.4 | -30.2 | 9.5 | 22.4 | -57.6 | 27.9 |
| Operating profit (EBIT), % | 4.0 | 6.7 | -40.6 | 1.9 | 5.3 | -64.3 | 4.8 |
| Adjusted operating profit (EBIT), EUR million ²⁾ | 7.3 | 10.5 | -29.9 | 18.5 | 24.3 | -23.8 | 30.3 |
| Adjusted operating profit (EBIT), % ²⁾ | 4.4 | 7.4 | -40.3 | 3.7 | 5.7 | -35.8 | 5.3 |
| Adjusted operating profit before the amortisation andimpairment of intangible assets (EBITA), EUR million ²⁾ | 9.4 | 12.3 | -23.5 | 24.4 | 29.5 | -17.1 | 37.3 |
| Adjusted operating profit before the amortisation andimpairment of intangible assets (EBITA), % ²⁾ | 5.7 | 8.7 | -34.9 | 4.9 | 7.0 | -30.2 | 6.5 |
| Profit before tax (EBT), EUR million | 4.5 | 8.5 | -46.8 | 4.4 | 19.6 | -77.8 | 24.2 |
| SHARE-RELATED INFORMATION | |||||||
| Earnings per share (EPS), EUR | 0.14 | 0.31 | -53.1 | 0.45 | 0.70 | -35.3 | 0.89 |
| Equity per share, EUR | 5.51 | 5.08 | 8.5 | 5.27 | |||
| OTHER KEY FIGURES | |||||||
| Return on capital employed (ROCE), % | 3.6 | 8.9 | -59.2 | 8.8 | |||
| Return on equity (ROE), % | 9.7 | 16.0 | -39.3 | 16.1 | |||
| Equity ratio, % | 19.4 | 25.7 | -24.3 | 26.9 | |||
| Gearing, % | 308.9 | 176.9 | 74.6 | 158.8 | |||
| Interest-bearing net debt, EUR million | 388.8 | 211.0 | 84.3 | 194.7 | |||
| Net debt/adjusted EBITDA, 12 months ²⁾ | 5.8 | 3.2 | 81.9 | 3.0 | |||
| Gearing, excluding IFRS 16, % ²⁾ | 140.0 | 104.6 | 33.9 | 90.8 | |||
| Interest-bearing net debt excluding IFRS 16, EUR million ²⁾ | 182.2 | 127.5 | 42.9 | 113.8 | |||
| Net debt/adjusted EBITDA, excluding IFRS 16, 12 months ²⁾ | 4.0 | 2.5 | 59.3 | 2.3 | |||
| Gross investments, EUR million ³⁾ | 12.0 | 9.3 | 216.5 | 37.8 | 44.8 | ||
| Cash flow from operating activities, EUR million | 6.7 | 8.8 | -24.4 | 42.4 | 32.1 | 32.2 | 56.9 |
| Cash flow after investments, EUR million | -5.2 | 6.2 | -34.1 | 5.8 | neg | 24.9 | |
| Average number of personnel (FTE) | 5,092 | 4,731 | 7.6 | 4,746 | |||
| Personnel at the end of the period (NOE) | 7,004 | 5,750 | 21.8 | 6,297 | |||
| Practitioners at the end of the period | 1,869 | 1,421 | 31.5 | 1,512 |
1) Pihlajalinna has changed its accounting policies and begun to retrospectively apply, effective from 1 January 2020, the IFRS Interpretations Committee’s Agenda Decision publish in April 2021 regarding the recognition of configuration or customisation costs in a cloud computing arrangement (Software as a Service, SaaS). The information about the effects of the Agenda Decision on the company’s income statement and financial position has been published in the financial statements 2021 and the information of the comparison periods have been restated.
2) Significant transactions that are not part of the normal course of business, are related to business acquisition costs (IFRS 3), are infrequently occurring events or valuation items that do not affect cash flow are treated as adjustment items affecting comparability between review periods. According to Pihlajalinna’s definition, such items include, for example, restructuring measures, impairment of assets and the remeasurement of previous assets held by subsidiaries, the costs of closing down businesses and business locations, gains and losses on the sale of businesses, cost arising from operational restructuring and the integration of acquired businesses, costs related to the termination of employment relationships as well as fines and corresponding compensation payments. From financial statements 2021 onwards, Pihlajalinna presents costs according to the IFRS Interpretations Committee’s new Agenda Decision concerning cloud computing arrangements, and reversals of amortisation, as adjustment items. Adjusted operating profit before the amortisation and impairment of intangible assets (EBITA) is presented as a new alternative performance measure.
EBITDA adjustments in the quarter amounted to EUR 0.8 (1.1) million and amounted to EUR 9.3 (2.4) million for the review period. Adjustments to operating profit in the quarter amounted to EUR 0.8 (1.1) million and EUR 9.0 (2.0) million for the review period.
3) Assets acquired via leases are regarded as equal to assets acquired by the Group itself, meaning that right-of-use assets pursuant to IFRS 16 are included in gross investments.
Pihlajalinna’s outlook for 2022 unchanged
Pihlajalinna’s full year consolidated revenue is expected to increase substantially, and full year adjusted operating profit before the amortisation and impairment of intangible assets (EBITA) is expected to be on a par with 2021. Due to Pohjola Hospital integration and efficiency improvement programs in municipal companies, the adjusted EBITA from the first half of the year stays below the bar of the previous year as anticipated.
In 2022, Pihlajalinna will focus on the integration of Pohjola Hospital operations to be a seamless part of its Medical Center for All of Finland -concept. Maintaining profitability on a par with 2021 will require success in increasing supply, realization of the planned synergies of the acquisitions, and successful implementation of efficiency improvements in municipal companies.
Joni Aaltonen, CEO of Pihlajalinna:
Pihlajalinna’s revenue increased by EUR 24.6 million, or 17.5 per cent, to EUR 165.2 million in the third quarter in spite of a substantial decline in the demand for COVID-19 services. Organic growth was EUR 4.6 million, or 3.3 per cent. Without COVID-19 services, organic growth would have been EUR 14.0 million or 10.0 per cent. The effect of M&A transactions on revenue growth was EUR 20.0 million, or 14.3 per cent. Adjusted EBITA for the third quarter was EUR 9.4 (12.3) million.
The growth of Pihlajalinna’s supply of private clinic services has progressed according to plan, and we are continuing to focus on it. We have expanded opening hours and increased our emergency and on-call services, particularly in Finland’s major cities. We currently provide comprehensive emergency and on-call services in Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu. We have also continued to invest heavily in remote services, the use of which increased by 34 per cent in the third quarter. Increasing our supply of services has required successful recruitment in both our in-person and remote services. The number of practitioners and available appointments have increased by 32 per cent compared to last year.
Pihlajalinna has a comprehensive service network in high value-added hospital services, which is an area where we have also increased our supply and extended our opening hours. Our strength in these services is our comprehensive and smooth care pathway, which is reflected in the growing strength of our insurance company partnerships.
Pohjola Hospital has been part of Pihlajalinna since the beginning of February. The integration of the ac-quired operating locations and services has been completed. The pursuit of synergies and the harmonisa-tion of operating practices and culture will continue. We have integrated our services and systems to sup-port a single customer path throughout Pihlajalinna. This provides us with a stronger foundation for the growth of our business and creates good conditions for increasing capacity utilisation rates.
We have also made progress with the integration of Etelä-Savon Työterveys Oy and Lääkärikeskus Ikioma Oy, which were acquired at the beginning of April. The acquisition of Etelä-Savon Työterveys gives us the opportunity to provide occupational healthcare services for the wellbeing services county of South Savo, which will start its operations at the beginning of 2023. The scope of the services covers approximately 8,000 persons. This year, we have considerably grown our network of operating locations in line with our strategy. The coverage of the network is approaching the level we have sought to achieve. Investing in the network has required substantial investments, increased lease liabilities and the Company's debt. With over 160 operating locations, we have a strong presence in regional centres across Finland.
The costs of public services under complete outsourcing agreements remained at a fairly high level. We have continued to implement efficiency improvement programmes and enhance productivity in our complete outsourcing agreements.
In September, we announced we are strengthening our Management Team’s structure to correspond to the company’s development and growth in line with its strategy. Timo Harju, M.Sc. (Economics and Business Administration), was appointed as Pihlajalinna’s COO, Private Clinic and Hospital Services and Kati Raassina, M.Sc. (Economics and Business Administration), was appointed as Pihlajalinna’s Chief People Officer effective from 1 November 2022. Some Management Team responsibilities have been reallocated.
Unlike in the corresponding period last year, the acceleration of the COVID-19 pandemic during the autumn has not reflected favourably in business operations. However, sickness-related absences among personnel caused operational challenges and costs of approximately EUR 1.0 million in the third quarter. We have prepared for the upcoming influenza season by increasing our supply of services at both clinics and vaccination locations. One example of this is the Punkkibussi business, which provides low-threshold influenza vaccination services on a mobile basis across Finland. To manage the sickness-related absences among our personnel, we have further specified our operating plan for the upcoming influenza season.
We have prepared for our upcoming cooperation with the wellbeing services counties that will start their operations at the beginning of 2023. We believe that various easy-to-integrate remote service models provided by the private sector, in particular, will continue to play a role in the service procurement of the wellbeing services counties in the future. The targets for access to care have been elevated, which serves as a strong driver for service procurement by the wellbeing services counties. We believe in the strength of the multi-producer model in the provision of equal and high-quality social and healthcare services for citizens. As a strong service provider, we have an excellent capability to continue with the existing contracts as a partner with the wellbeing services counties and to respond to the increasing demand created by the care gap in public healthcare.
Pihlajalinna continues to invest strongly in increasing the supply, especially in high value-added special medical care services such as surgical operations, balances the service network, invests heavily in remote services and revises the pricing of services to reflect the market situation. In addition, the Company continues the pursuit of synergies of business arrangements and to make operations more efficient in all of the Company's activities. Pihlajalinna will enter the new year in a strong position.
Pihlajalinna’s financial reporting in 2023
Financial Statements Release 2022: Friday, 17 February 2023
Financial Statements and Board of Directors’ report: no later than in week 11
Interim report January–March: Friday, 28 April 2023
Half Year Financial Report January–June: Friday, 11 August 2023
Interim report January–September: Friday, 3 November 2023
Pihlajalinna Plc’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 4 April 2023.
Webcast for analyst and media
Pihlajalinna will organize a live webcast meeting for analysts, investors and media, on Friday, 4 November, 2022 at 10.00 a.m. at: https://pihlajalinna.videosync.fi/2022-q3-results/register. The event will be conducted in Finnish. The recording of the event will be available later on the same website as the live webcast.
Further information
Tarja Rantala, CFO, +358 40 774 9290 or tarja.rantala@pihlajalinna.fi
Tuula Lehto, VP, Communications and Sustainability, +358 40 5885 343 or tuula.m.lehto@pihlajalinna.fi
Distribution
Nasdaq Helsinki
Major media
investors.pihlajalinna.fi
Pihlajalinna in brief
Pihlajalinna is one of the leading providers of private healthcare and wellbeing services in Finland. The Group produces doctor's appointment services and specialised care, occupational healthcare and oral healthcare services, and residential and welfare services. To public entities Pihlajalinna offers social and healthcare service production models, in which the cooperation between the public and private sectors guarantees high-quality services for citizens. In 2021, Pihlajalinna's revenue was 580 million euros and the number of personnel almost 7,000. Pihlajalinna's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. Read more www.pihlajalinna.fi.