By Michelle Tay

THE H1N1 flu may have infected many people around the world but it has also ensured that Parkway Holdings' second-quarter bottom line is hale and hearty.

The health-care group yesterday reported a 42 per cent jump in net profit to $40.3 million for the period ended June 30. Revenue rose to $258.6 million, up 10 per cent year on year.

'The group's second-quarter results show that it is not adversely affected by the H1N1 pandemic,' said the group.

'While there is a decrease in (the number of) patients visiting Singapore hospitals during this pandemic, Parkway Shenton treated more patients who requested flu vaccinations.'

The group also received a shot in the arm by way of a contract awarded by the Ministry of Health to conduct border screening at all Singapore entry points.

Dr Lim Cheok Peng, chief executive of Parkway Holdings, said: 'Parkway has delivered an outstanding set of quarterly revenue and (profit) numbers. We have continued to focus our efforts on...the highest standards in patient care.'

Parkway's Singapore operations earned more, thanks to government budget incentives such as Jobs Credit and property tax rebates, while the group's international operations saw 'robust performance' thanks to higher patient volume and revenue intensity.

Dr Lim said: 'The group's first-half results show the resilience of our integrated regional health-care platform that has performed very well despite the prolonged economic downturn.'

For the half-year, net profit surged 29 per cent to $61.6 million on a 7 per cent rise in revenue to $496.3 million.

Earnings per share for the quarter was 2.66 cents, down from 3.06 cents in the same period last year.

Net asset value per share stood at $1.24 as of June 30, up from $1.19 as of Dec 31, 2008.

Parkway declared no dividend, after having paid an interim dividend of 1.23 cents a share last year.

Looking ahead, the group expects demand for premier health care in the international markets of Malaysia, India and China to continue to drive its growth.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.