Interim Results for the six months ended 31 March 2007

Company news

May 22, 2007

¹ before amortisation of other intangible assets and including joint venture operating profit.

• Good progress in all areas of the business from Care UK, a leading independent provider of health and social care solutions in the UK, particularly through organic growth, bolt-on acquisitions and new services becoming operational
• Acquisition of Mercury Health from Tribal Group plc on 20 April 2007 , strengthening Care UK 's presence in the emerging NHS market; integration progressing well
• Strengthened management team with a number of senior appointments
• Forward contracted income of £921m with further £376m at preferred bidder, before including Mercury Health

Residential Care

• Revenue and operating profit increased by 20% and 18% respectively
• Recent new contract awards from the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Slough Borough Council both proceeding as planned

Community Care

• Excellent growth with revenue up 23% and operating profit up 25% as a result of recent acquisitions and contract wins
• Total hours of care provided per week up to 94,000 at the period end, an increase of 11% from September 2006
• Recent acquisitions in Greater Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent continue to strengthen geographical presence

Specialist Care

• Increase of 22% in both revenue and operating profit representing good growth across all three areas of mental health, learning disabilities and children's services
• New divisional Managing Director appointed and management strengthened in all business areas through the appointment of experienced sector operators

Clinical Care

• Revenue in Clinical Care increased to £15.7m (2006: £8.7m)
• Pleasing performance from PHG, the group's ISTC joint venture
  • Continuing high patient satisfaction levels and clinical outcomes from established ISTCs at Barlborough Links and Plymouth ;
  • Maidstone and North East London ISTCs opened as planned in October and December 2006 respectively;
  • Good progress towards financial close on ground-breaking Hampshire/Isle of Wight ISTC project
• The existing Primary Care business continues to perform well
  • Commuter walk-in centres in Newcastle upon Tyne and London Victoria now operational;
  • Progress towards financial close on important Primary Care and Diagnostics contracts

Commenting on the Outlook, John Nash, Chairman, said:

"The strategies of both Local Authorities and the NHS continue to focus on commissioning and service development in response to challenging demographic trends. A key part of these strategies is to partner with the independent and voluntary sectors to complement expertise and to create a more dynamic and responsive market environment. The extent of this market transition is substantial and the evolution to a market economy is inexorable. In line with this, we believe that Care UK will continue to benefit from consolidation and organic growth opportunities to build an organisation of a scale in proportion to the substantial markets that we serve.

"Care UK's growth pipeline in Social Care remains strong and, following a period of transition from central to local procurement, we anticipate opportunities for further transformational growth in Health Care. Overall, Care UK's position as a leading independent provider of services to the NHS has been significantly strengthened over the first half of the year and we look forward to consolidating our position further in all areas of the business"