PETALING JAYA: Kenanga Investment Bank Research is keeping its positive outlook for the healthcare sector, despite the subdued performance of the industry in general for the first quarter of the year (1Q24).
The research unit commented that 1Q24 has seen stable sequential earnings delivery against its expectations, with half of the companies in the sector under its coverage coming in within its performance forecast.
“The disappointment came largely from pharmaceutical players. Out of the five companies under our coverage, only Pharmaniaga Bhd beat our expectation,” it said.
It revealed that for the other four companies it studies, IHH Healthcare Bhd and KPJ Healthcare Bhd had met its expectations, while conversely, Nova Wellness Group and Kotra Industries Bhd came in below.
Kenanga Research said private healthcare players in 1Q24 including KPJ and IHH were in a seasonally low quarter due to the festive holidays, with both groups expecting patients to return in subsequent quarters as already seen from April onward.
It said KPJ’s 1Q24 results had met expectations despite the slower festive period that led to patients delaying treatment, driven by higher inpatient throughput, bed capacity, average revenue per inpatient and outpatient, as well as surgeries, despite a lower bed occupancy rate (BOR).
“We anticipate KPJ’s patient throughput to grow at 9% (versus an estimated with BOR of 72%, driven by revenue intensity emanating from the recovery in demand for elective surgeries,” it said.