CFO's report
Steve O'Connor
Chief Finance Officer
The Bays Healthcare Group reported an operating profit (EBITDA) of $10.4m in 2023-24. As a result of the transition of the aged care home to national operator Apollo Care, improved operating performance and significant donations received, this result was an increase of $9.1m compared to the previous year. Due to capital grants and after accounting for depreciation, the net profit surplus was $14.7m, up on the $1.5m deficit reported in 2022-23.
Importantly, a number of key metrics showed strong improvement during the 2023-24 financial year – the trajectory of which is driving continued improvement in our underlying operating performance. Of note, in 2023-24 the Group achieved:
- 3.8 per cent rise in hospital admissions
- 2.9 per cent growth in surgical admissions
- 11.4 per cent increase in day infusion days
In addition, cost management initiatives kept expense increases below inflation. Total employee expense rose 2 per cent on the previous year, while non-staff expenses decreased by 1.5 per cent. This was achieved through gaining better efficiency in the hospital, a critical initiative given the challenges of the broader healthcare environment.
The 2023-24 financial year was also a year of strategic information technology investments for the Group. Key initiatives comprised investment and implementation of a new time and attendance system, and the rollout of the automated data and business intelligence tools, which replaced intensive manual processes. Ongoing investment in our hospital IT platforms remains a priority for the group for 2024-25.
Importantly, construction of the Cancer Care Centre was 90 per cent complete at the end of the 2023-2024 period. The Centre has been delivered on budget; an excellent achievement given the inflationary pressures throughout the build period. We will celebrate the opening in late 2024.
