Life Healthcare Sees Core Earnings Up 6-11%
Life Healthcare expects core earnings per share up 6% to 11% for the year to September 2026, but headline EPS may fall 1% to 6%. Results are due 26 Nov.
Life Healthcare, a South African private hospital group listed in Johannesburg, expects its normalised earnings per share (NEPS), a core measure of profit per share, to rise 6% to 11% in the year to 30 September 2026. A stricter measure, headline earnings per share (HEPS), is expected to dip 1% to 6% against an adjusted 2025 figure, the company said on Thursday 12 November 2026.
Key Facts
—Core earnings. NEPS expected at 106.3 to 111.3 cents (about US$0.06 to US$0.07), up 6% to 11%.
—Headline earnings. HEPS from continuing operations expected at 100.7 to 106.0 cents, down 1% to 6%.
—Why. A 2025 accounting charge of 2.9 billion rand (about US$172 million), tied to a business sale, distorts the comparison.
—Half-year. Revenue rose 2.4% to R12.4 billion (about US$736 million) in the six months to 31 March 2026.
—Next. Full results are due on or about Thursday 26 November 2026; these figures are unaudited estimates.
What the Company Told Investors
Life Healthcare issued a trading statement on the JSE, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which is the early estimate that listed companies give before full results. The figures are unaudited, and the company says its auditors have not reviewed them.
Normalised earnings per share (NEPS) from continuing operations are expected at 106.3 to 111.3 cents (about US$0.06 to US$0.07), against 100.3 cents (about US$0.06) a year earlier. The company says this measure better reflects its underlying business and excludes the accounting adjustment described below.
Why the Two Earnings Measures Disagree
Headline earnings per share (HEPS), a South African measure that strips out certain one-off gains and losses, is expected at 100.7 to 106.0 cents from continuing operations. That is 1% to 6% below a pro forma 2025 figure of 107.1 cents (about US$0.06), while the reported 2025 figure was a loss of 93.9 cents because of the charge described below.
Pro forma means the company’s own adjusted comparison, which is not an audited figure under IFRS, the international accounting standards. It exists because Life Healthcare sold Life Molecular Imaging, its molecular imaging arm, in the 2025 financial year and booked a net post-tax gain of R2.4 billion (about US$143 million).
That net gain came after a R2.9 billion (about US$172 million) fair-value charge, an accounting revaluation of a liability linked to Piramal, the Indian group that originally owned the business. The company added the charge back to build the pro forma 2025 comparison, and normalised earnings leave it out.
How the Hospitals Did Earlier in the Year
In the six months to 31 March 2026, revenue rose 2.4% to R12.4 billion (about US$736 million), and normalised EBITDA, a measure of operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, rose 5.2%. Normalised earnings per share increased 8.4% to 53.1 cents (about US$0.03), and the board declared an interim dividend of 23 cents a share (about US$0.01).
The company said a health funder placed under curatorship, meaning under an official administrator, affected its operating performance in that half. It also set a target of R400 million (about US$24 million) in cost savings over three years and expects to recruit about 140 new specialists in its 2026 financial year.
What It Means for You
The statement matters mainly to shareholders and analysts, and to funds that hold South African healthcare stocks. It covers earnings only, not hospital prices or services.
The company says audited figures will follow on or about 26 November 2026, and the final numbers can differ from these estimates. For wider context, see our reports on South Africa’s jobs data, our guide to private healthcare in South Africa and South Africa news.
What Is Not Known
The statement gives per-share ranges only. Total profit, full-year revenue and any final dividend will only be known when the audited results are published.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Life Healthcare say on 12 November 2026?
It expects normalised earnings per share from continuing operations to rise 6% to 11% to 106.3 to 111.3 cents (about US$0.06 to US$0.07) for the year to 30 September 2026. Headline earnings per share are expected to fall 1% to 6% against the pro forma 2025 figure.
Why are the two earnings measures different?
A 2025 sale of Life Molecular Imaging produced a R2.4 billion (about US$143 million) net gain after a R2.9 billion (about US$172 million) fair-value charge. Normalised earnings exclude that charge, and the pro forma 2025 comparison adds it back.
When are the full results due?
Life Healthcare expects to release them on or about Thursday 26 November 2026. The trading statement figures have not been reviewed by its auditors.
Which exchange rate was used for the US$ values?
We converted at R16.84 per US$, the spot rate on 13 November 2026. Per-share US$ values are rounded to the nearest cent.
Sources
Life Healthcare Group Holdings trading statement for the year ended 30 September 2026, 12 November 2026 (lifehealthcare.co.za) · Life Healthcare interim results announcement, six months to 31 March 2026 (lifehealthcare.co.za) · Spot exchange rate, 13 November 2026
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