Free bed capacity led to a decline in sales and earnings in the first quarter of 2020 – no reliable forecast for the 2020 financial year yet possible

In the first quarter of 2020, Group sales of the MEDICLIN Aktiengesellschaft (MEDICLIN) of EUR 167.4 million was at the level of the same quarter of 2019. Sales in the post-acute segment fell by EUR 2.9 million, or 2.8%. The acute segment improved its sales by EUR 3.2 million, or 5.4%. Sales in the nursing care business area were slightly below the previous year's level.

Group-EBIT of EUR -3.9 million (Q1 2019: EUR 1.6 million) is reported for the first quarter of 2020. In the post-acute segment, segment earnings amounted to EUR -2.2 million (Q1 2020: EUR 2.9 million) and in the acute segment EUR -0.3 million (Q1 2019: EUR -0.5 million). .

In the first three months of 2019, EUR 9.5 million (gross) were invested (Q1 2019: EUR 11.2 million), mainly in the reconstruction or expansion of the clinics and in the medical equipment. As of March 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR 28.5 million (31.12.2019: EUR 37.2 million).

Free capacity created in the fight against the Corona virus

A lower capacity utilization in the clinics had a negative impact on earnings for both the Group and the segments compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Due to the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic, MEDICLIN’s acute clinics have cancelled all non-essential operations since mid-March 2020 and have increased ventilaton capacites by 40 %. The post-acute clinics, in turn, have kept bed capacities free for coronavirus patients or to ease the burden on the regional hospitals at more than half of the facilities as agreed with the respective Land governments.

Return to normal not expected before the second half of 2020

At present, it is not yet foreseeable to what extent the protective shield set up by the government will effectively compensate for the financial burdens actually incurred due to declining occupancy rates at the hospitals. This will show in the months to come. Given the current situation, the Management Board does not assume at present that the expectations published for the 2020 financial year will be reached. As soon as the development can be reliably estimated, the Management Board will issue a new forecast for the current financial year.

Presently, MEDICLIN assumes that the situation will not return to normal before the second half of the year. Then a certain catch-up effect or respectively an increase in the demand for medical and therapeutic services may occur.

The interim report as of March 31, 2020 is available on the homepage of MEDICLIN in German and English from today on www.mediclin.de

About MEDICLIN AG (Ticker: MED; WKN: 659 510)

MEDICLIN owns 36 clinics, seven nursing care facilities and nine medical care centres. The Group has about 8,500 beds/places and a headcount of about 10,500. With its strong network, MEDICLIN can offer its patients integrated care from the first visit to the doctor to surgery, post-operative rehabilitation and follow-up care at home. Doc-tors, therapists and nurses work together closely to achieve the best results. MEDICLIN plans the care of persons in need in accordance with their individual requirements and personal needs.

MEDICLIN – A company of the Asklepios Group.