phg in profit. mkose is right

You are right on the money there mkose. PHG is in profit and that is before they even get going.

The company is in a sweet spot. There is a looming crisis in government hospitals and the Baby Boomners are all starting to get sick.....bung knees, bung hearts, bung everything!! On top of that Healthscope (HSP) and Ramsey Healthcare (RHC) have hit ACCC competition restrictions on further private hospital acquisitions in many area.

PHG's release to the maket on 13/12/08, Institutional Placement Presentation, shows current market shares as:

HSP 17% 45 facilities
RHC 24% 69 facilities
Churches 29% 80 facilities
Other 30% 91 facilities

Many in the latter two groups are trying to sell out. The industry has got to the point where many small private operators cannot survive. Its a case of get big or get out. Thats where PHG comes is.

And by combining a private hospital and home nursing care business with a nursing agency is a masterstroke. Whenever hospitals say they are closing beds it actually means that they do not have the nursing staff for them. The beds are not physically removed from the hospital...they just don't have the staff so beds aren't used. The nursing agency will mean that PHG is at the front of the queue with staffing and will enable them to open more beds with no extra capital cost. That equals more bottom line.