Beacon Hospital swings back into profit as pandemic wanes

• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

The Beacon private hospital in Sandyford, Dublin, swung back into profit last year as the costs associated with COVID-19 fell and turnover rose

The latest accounts for Beacon Medical Group Sandyford Ltd show that it made a profit of €12.4 million for the year to the end of December 2021. This compared to a loss of just under €2 million in 2020.

Operating profits more than tripled to €12 million, with the company noting that profits in 2020 were "artificially low" as a result of the agreement entered into with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to provide additional capacity to the public health system in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on a "cost recovery basis".

Turnover at the hospital, which is 80 per cent owned by businessman Denis O'Brien, rose by 24 per cent to €188.5 million in 2021, the accounts show, while the hospital's staff numbers increased by 12 per cent to 1,211 full-time equivalents.

The company behind the private hospital has invested some €95 million on a capital programme over the last five years, including €15 million in 2021 to upgrade equipment and expand facilities. "To date this investment has funded new and expanded facilities in the areas of cardiology, cancer, orthopaedics, radiology, endoscopy and urology," it said. "This investment funded a number of important projects, including an expanded...