BAD NEUSTADT (dpa-AFX) - Hospital operator Rhön-Klinikum expects stable business development for its eight hospitals this year despite the difficult overall situation in the industry. After sales of around 1.45 billion euros last year, there should be an increase to 1.5 billion euros in 2023, the company announced on Thursday. Legislative intervention, particularly in the nursing care sector, had a negative impact on earnings. Upcoming collective wage agreements could also have an impact on earnings. At the moment, a wage dispute for hospital doctors is underway with warning strikes in Bavaria, among other places.

Rhön-Klinikum operates eight hospitals at five sites in Bavaria, Hesse, Thuringia and Brandenburg, including the University Hospital Giessen and Marburg as the centerpiece. Agreement had been reached with the state of Hesse on an investment program for this facility. Over the next ten years, 850 million euros are to be invested in Germany's third-largest university hospital.

Last year, the healthcare company was left with a bottom-line profit of 26.94 million euros. In 2021, it was 30.23 million. The number of employees remained virtually stable at 18,140. The shares of Rhön-Klinikum AG are majority-owned by the Hamburg-based hospital group Asklepios./dm/DP/zb