HEALTHCARE provider Thomson Medical Group  Thomson Medical: A50 +1.18%  logged a 54.1 per cent rise in net profit to S$12.5 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2021, buoyed by an increase in patient load, higher average bill size, and project-related services.

Group revenue for the six-month period rose 25 per cent to S$145 million from S$117 million in the year-ago period revenue from the hospital and specialised services grew 8 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively.

In a financial update posted after market hours on Friday (Feb 11), the company said revenue in Singapore grew 30 per cent to S$109 million, driven by income from core services such as obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics. This was further augmented by income from managing vaccination centres and a community treatment facility for Covid-19 patients. Singapore accounts for three quarters of Thomson Medical' s total revenue.

In Malaysia, revenue rose nearly 11 per cent to S$36.5 million, but profitability was affected by costs incurred from the expansion of Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara (THKD) in Selangor, Thomson Medical said.

Other income, however, fell 39.2 per cent from S$8.1 million to S$4.9 million due to lower government grants under Singapore' s Job Support Scheme and lower property rebates, the company said

Staff costs for H1 FY22 went up by 46.6 per cent due to increased hiring in Malaysia to prepare for the opening TKHD' s new expansion wings, as well as additional resources incurred to manage the Covid-19-related facilities in Singapore. Salaries were also adjusted to " maintain salary competitiveness" for the staff, the company said.

Other operating expenses grew 11.4 per cent to S$34.8 million for the period, mainly due to higher professional fees paid to doctors and commissioning costs incurred for the THKD expansion.

Earnings per share stood at 0.047 cents for the half-year period, compared to 0.031 cents a year ago. As at end-December 2021, the company had a cash balance of S$137.4 million.

Thomson Medical' s executive director and chief executive officer Wong Chiang Yin said the company is " cautiously optimistic" about its prospects in the current financial year as regional economies gradually reopen following the rollout of vaccination programmes.

He added that the new wing in Malaysia is expected to start contributing to revenue in the second half of this financial year.

In December, Thomson Medical' s digital arm Thomson X  announced a joint venture  with Singapore telehealth provider WhiteCoat to launch a mobile application to offer healthcare services to women and children.

The company' s shares ended Friday up 1.19 per cent or S$0.001 at S$0.085, before the business update.