JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) Mediclinic International, a hospital chain operator said Thursday it had more than tripled its profits for the second half of 2009. This is close to pre-pandemic levels because people are returning for non-COVID treatment.

The London-based South African company, owned by South Africa, did not reinstate the dividend payout that had been suspended for one year. It stated it was trying to preserve its liquidity.

Mediclinic has hospitals across South Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. It reported headline earnings per stock – which is the primary measure of corporate profit in South Africa – of 8.8 pence compared with 2.4 pence for the same period a decade ago.

The revenues of hospital chains around the globe fell in the last year-and-a half because successive waves COVID-19 caused people to delay non-essential healthcare procedures such as general treatments or surgery, in order to avoid having to visit hospitals.

Because of the increased rate of vaccines in Europe, Middle East and Asia, hospital procedures have seen a rise in demand. More than three quarters of Mediclinic’s revenues are from Europe and Middle East.

Ronnie van der Merwe is the Group CEO of Mediclinic. He stated, “A key priority to us is to restore pre-pandemic profitability to all three divisions. We remain focused on adapting to delivering efficiencies.”

Comparing the previous year’s corresponding period, the company recorded a 12.2% increase in revenues to 1.58 billion pounds ($2.14 trillion) in the first half. The hospital operator stated that revenue was over 4% more than the prior half, which ended on Sept. 30, 2019. This occurred before the outbreak.

($1 = 0.7389 pounds)