District Health Boards' Income Increases

District Health Boards' Income Increases

The hospital and health service (HHS) provider functions of New Zealand's 21 district health boards (DHBs) have recorded an increase in total seasonally adjusted income in the September 2002 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. Compared with the June 2002 quarter, total income rose $67.3 million or 7.1 percent to reach $1021.5 million, and was $82.1 million or 8.7 percent higher than in the September 2001 quarter.

Government revenue, which accounted for 92.6 percent of total income, increased 6.5 percent or $57.8 million this quarter to $946.0 million. Medical charges and all other income also increased, up 16.5 percent to $74.2 million. Medical charges and all other income includes items such as funding received for clinical training, accident insurance revenue, private patient revenue, pharmacy sales and income from the renting and leasing of buildings and land.

Total seasonally adjusted operating expenditure also rose this quarter, up 3.4 percent to $1,067.0 million. Driving this was a 13.6 percent or $40.7 million increase in the cost of direct medical supplies and all other expenses, which reached $339.9 million. Interest paid also increased, up 5.3 percent or $0.9 million to $18.0 million. Partly offsetting these increases were falls in employee costs, depreciation, and the capital charge, down 0.9 percent, 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

The seasonally adjusted operating deficit of the HHSs in the September 2002 quarter was $45.5 million. This is $32.4 million lower than the $77.9 million deficit recorded in the previous quarter, the highest quarterly deficit recorded since the series began in 1993. Additional funding has reduced the number of HHS providers recording a deficit, down from 20 in the June 2002 quarter to 14 in this quarter.

Total equity and liabilities increased 6.8 percent this quarter, up from $2,609.9 million in June 2002 to $2,787.1 million in September 2002. Capital injections from the Crown saw equity levels increase 18.5 percent or $144.5 million between June and September 2002 to reach $927.4 million, after falls in the previous four quarters. Debt levels also rose this quarter, up $32.6 million to $1,859.6 million. Total debt was made up of current liabilities ($864.5 million), long-term loans ($935.8 million) and other term liabilities ($59.3 million). As a result of the improved equity position relative to the increase in debt levels, the debt to equity ratio fell this quarter, down from 2.33 in the June 2002 quarter to 2.01 in the September 2002 quarter.

The value of total assets rose 6.8 percent in the September 2002 quarter to $2,787.1 million. The greatest contribution to the increase in total assets was a $141.5 million, or 42.6 percent, increase in other current assets, largely as a result of higher levels of debtors. Investments, up $5.5 million, and the value of fixed assets, up $30.2 million, also contributed to the increase in total assets.

Inventory levels remained stable this quarter at $58.1 million; however, both additions and disposals of fixed assets fell, down 14.0 and 12.3 percent, respectively. The debt to fixed asset ratio remained steady on 0.84 at the end of September 2002.

Brian Pink

Government Statistician

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