In the space of 12 months BaptistCare NSW/ACT, the Not For Profit Christian based care operator, has seen a $7 million profit turn into a $6 million operating loss.

In its annual report, the retirement village, aged care and home care operator saw an increase in income of $25 million to $350 million. However, its spending increased by $38 million, creating the annual operating loss.

Employment expenses increased from $216 million to $233 million, property expenses rose from $45 million to $62 million. Service delivery and business support expenditure remained stable.

“BaptistCare’s 2020/21 financial results reflect the significant operational costs that have continued to be incurred due to the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CEO Charles Moore (pictured).

“This includes additional staffing and roles to ensure our families and residents could connect when visiting restrictions were in place. We also decided to pay all our employees retention bonuses to acknowledge their commitment during a challenging year.

“Our property expenses were driven predominantly by a sizeable one-off impairment charge of $9.5 million, as well as increased depreciation driven by our investment in the provision of social and affordable housing that has come on board in the past year.

“We also acquired a new home, Bethshan Gardens (Wyee) in early 2020, which has now seen a full year of operating expenses in our FY21 results.

“With consistently strong EBITDA results, we remain confident in our financial position, which will allow us to fulfil our strategic objectives now and into the future, as we do all we can to see those we care for living well.”