About 47 per cent of Australians have private healthcare cover for hospitals, compared with about 30 per cent of New Zealanders. Photo / Thinkstock
Vital Healthcare Property Trust, the listed hospital owner and developer, has increased annual earnings 4.6 per cent, beating estimates, as its rents increased from an expanding Australian business, and flagged a bigger return for investors in 2016.
Distributable earnings, which strips out unrealised movements in the value of property, rose
to $36.4 million, or 10.6c a unit, in the 12 months ended June 30, from $34.7 million, or 10.4c, a year earlier, said trust manager Vital Healthcare Management. That was ahead of Forsyth Barr's forecast for a fall in annual earnings to $32.3 million.
Net profit more than doubled to $96.5 million, including an $84 million gain on the value of Vital's property portfolio. About 93 per cent of that uplift came from the trust's Australian properties, and 70 per cent was on sites that had been redeveloped.
"Vital has finished the 2015 financial year with solid financial results and a strong portfolio of properties," said chief executive David Carr.
"The fundamental drivers of healthcare - an ageing population, growing private health insurance and high demand for outpatient and hospital services - remain positive tailwinds in executing our strategy."
