Netcare shares jumped on Monday, as the group posted a sharp earnings increase – and said it expected growing profit margins in the next year.

The hospital group reported a 27% increase in adjusted headline earnings for the year to end-September, with revenue up 10% to almost R24 billion. Its dividend was hiked by 30% to 65c.

Total paid patient days increased by almost 7%, while its hospital occupancy (the percentage of beds that are filled) increased to more than 64%, from 60% in the previous year.