Not For Profit retirement living and aged care provider IRT Group has cut its losses to $10.6 million after slashing its 2020/2021 capital expenditure by 50% following a $20 million loss 12 months earlier.
IRT, which operates 30 retirement villages, 20 aged care homes and four home care regions in NSW, southeast Queensland and the ACT, saw a $40 million increase in operating revenue to $262 million and an operating net profit of $11.7 million.
“This is a significant improvement on last year, which saw an underlying loss of $20 million,” said IRT CEO Patrick Reid.
IRT’s financial challenges reflect those of another NFP, BaptistCare NSW/ACT, which recorded a significant loss after a profit 12 months earlier.
IRT achieved a highly respectable retirement village occupancy of 94.5% and delivered a record number of Home Care Packages (1,019) for the organisation. However, Mr Reid said that more people are choosing to stay in their homes and remain independent for longer, rather than enter care.
“To tailor our products and services to be more in line with consumers’ preferences and to generate new income streams, we have been exploring a range of potential support services like meals, mobility services and allied health as part of our future product offering. We expect significant growth in home care, delivering more services into customers’ homes,” he said in the annual report.
IRT is building new retirement villages to capture those who wish to remain independent. Stage One and Stage Two of Henry Brooks Estate at IRT Kanahooka have been completed. IRT also has plans to redevelop IRT Towradgi in Wollongong, on the NSW South Coast.
