Bupa stays healthy despite customer drop

PRIVATE medical group Bupa yesterday revealed that group profits remained healthy last year despite suffering in the UK, where unemployment drove a 5 per cent slip in customer numbers.

Bupa saw its UK surplus, which also includes US long-term condition specialist Health Dialogue, shrink to 16.8 million from 39.8m a year earlier on broadly flat revenues of 2.1 billion in the year to 31 December. But overall the group said pre-tax profits – which are all re-invested back into the business – soared 117 per cent to 416.5m after the firm bounced back from 2008's impairments and losses, driven by the credit crunch.

On an underlying basis, profits grew by 4 per cent to 428.2m while revenues were up by 17 per cent to 6.9bn, helped by acquisitions, organic growth and currency movements.

The healthcare firm's UK arm provides services including health insurance, home treatment and hospital care.

It said the recession and rising unemployment had taken their toll on the division, with the slump in customer numbers driven by contracting payrolls.

The cost of claims also increased in the year as medical prices rose, with the cost of cancer treatments particularly affected as a new generation of cancer drugs have seen costs rise 40 per cent over five years.