Daily news - 17 Apr

Raffles Medical Q1 net profit up 27.7% to $7.8m
Raffles Medical Group – Despite a slowdown in topline growth, health care services provider Raffles Medical Group managed to turn in a 27.7 per cent year-on-year jump in first-quarter net profit to $7.8 million, buoyed by a combination of better operating efficiencies and brisk business in its health care services segment. Revenue for the three months to March 31 edged up 7.6 per cent to $51 million, lower than the double- digit growth that it had seen when the economy was robust. But executive chairman Loo Choon Yong said that the group's local patient load remained stable, while the number of foreign patients had climbed 8 per cent year-on-year for Q1. 'We wish it's higher but this year, obviously there's a world economic crisis going on affecting the region from where our patients come,' said Dr Loo. The health care services segment, which included its GP clinics and the health insurance unit, grew at 10.8 per cent, while turnover at its hospital went up 5.2 per cent. Raffles Medical did not give a breakdown of revenue at the two divisions. Over the same period, staff costs edged up 4.1 per cent to $24.9 million.

NOL forecasts US$240m Q1 loss
Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), South-east Asia's biggest container carrier, expects its 2009 first quarter results to show an estimated net loss of US$240 million. It said this estimate, which is 'subject to finalisation', is more than the net loss of US$149 million it reported for Q4 2008. Q1 results are due to be reported on May 12. 'The first quarter of the year is a seasonally slower period for the global container shipping sector,' said NOL in a filing to the Singapore Exchange last night. 'However, this deterioration in performance is also due to a worsening of business operating conditions in the first quarter.'

Source: Kim Eng