Healthcare

In 2008 the HSS group continued to develop and manage the new initiatives that it has undertaken in this sector and to identify new opportunities for investment.

In financial year 2008 the HSS group reported revenues of € 246.3 million, up from € 182.9 million in the previous year, posting a rise of 34.7%, thanks to growth of all areas of the business and to the acquisitions made during the year.

Revenues of the group can be broken down as follows:

Consolidated EBITDA was € 28.7 million, up by 42.3% from € 20.2 million in 2007 and consolidated EBIT was € 14.7 million, up from € 11.1 million in the previous year.

The consolidated net result was a loss of € 1.5 million compared to net income of 0.3 million in the previous year. The change was due mainly to an extraordinary item involving adjustments of € 2 million to assets from acquisitions completed at the end of 2007. These provisions were considered appropriate in the light of the current economic and financial environment.

At December 31 2008 the HSS group had net debt of € 149.1 million compared to € 148.6 million at December 31 2007, offsetting real estate properties with a carrying value of approximately 120 million euro. The debt figure was the result, on the one hand, of the subscription in June 2008, by CIR and the Morgan Stanley funds (already shareholders of HSS), of a capital increase for a total of € 40 million, and on the other, of acquisitions and investments made during the year.

At December 31 2008 consolidated shareholders' equity stood at € 138.5 million, up from € 102.8 million at December 31 2007.

During the year HSS consolidated its position in the Italian market, especially in the social welfare sector (with the management of residences for the non self-sufficient elderly) and in the healthcare sector (with the management of hospitals and rehabilitation centres). One of the main events of the year was the acquisition of the Cardinal Ferrari Centre in Fontanellato (PR), which manages a hospital specializing in neurological rehabilitation, has 91 beds and is National Health Service accredited. It is part of the Emilia regional network for the rehabilitation of serious acquired brain injuries.

The business of the HSS group is currently directed at managing the following:

1. Residences and nursing homes (RSAs), with 36 residences under management (approximately 3,690 beds operational and more than 330 under construction);
2. Hospitals and rehabilitation centres, with 6 rehabilitation facilities (in Lombardy, Emilia Romagna, Trentino and Marche), 8 psychiatric rehabilitation communities (in Liguria, Piedmont and Lombardy) and 13 day hospitals, for a total of 1,107 beds in operation and 50 under construction;
3. A hospital and hi-tech services in hospitals, with 7 diagnostic imaging departments.

Currently the HSS group manages a total of 4,917 beds plus another 380 or so that are under construction.

The employees of the group totalled 3,130 at December 31 2008, up from 2,476 at December 31 2007.