UAE's NMC Health lifts profit 27 pct on higher occupancy

ABU DHABI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - NMC Health (LSE: NMC.L - news) , the United Arab Emirates healthcare provider, boosted first-half profit by nearly 27 percent, aided by higher occupancy across its hospitals, it said on Tuesday.

The London-listed company, which operates general and specialist hospitals, pharmacies and medical centres, made a net profit of $40.9 million in the first six months of the year, against $32.3 million in the same period last year.

Revenues were up 15 percent to $314.3 million, with healthcare revenue accounting for $161 million. The healthcare figure was up by more than 12 percent year on year, while outpatient numbers grew by nearly 14 percent and in-patient numbers by 12 percent.

Abu Dhabi-based NMC, founded by billionaire Indian entrepreneur B.R. Shetty, is one of the largest private sector healthcare providers in the UAE and expects the recent opening of two new hospitals to help to maintain its profit growth.

"We expect these two major additions to our hospital portfolio to make significant contributions to our future growth," NMC Chief Executive Shetty said in a statement.

"With our home market economy still growing strongly, I view the remainder of 2014 with confidence and look forward to the addition of new assets to our portfolio."

NMC plans to add the Al Ain Medical Center in the second half of this year and the Khalifa City Hospital in the first half of next year, Shetty said. (Reporting By Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Praveen Menon and David Goodman)