Behind Concord Healthcare (2453.HK)'s Positive Profit Alert: Gross Profit Surges More Than 160-Fold as Proton Therapy Enters a New Phase of Scalable Growth

HONG KONG, August 4, 2026 - (ACN Newswire) - On July 30, 2026, Concord Healthcare Group Co., Ltd. (HKEX: 2453) issued a positive profit alert, forecasting revenue of approximately RMB 260–280 million for the first half of 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of 29%–39%. More notably, the Company expects gross profit to reach RMB 63–83 million, compared with only RMB 380,000 in the same period of 2025—an increase of approximately 163 to 216 times.The significant improvement in gross profitability signals that Concord Healthcare's long-term investment in proton therapy infrastructure has begun to enter the commercialization stage. As its flagship proton therapy center reaches scale, high-end radiation oncology services are becoming an increasingly important contributor to the Company's financial performance.

From Gross Loss to Explosive Gross Profit Growth: A Long-Awaited Inflection Point

To fully appreciate the significance of this profit alert, it should be viewed within the broader context of Concord Healthcare's long-term strategic development.

According to the Company's 2025 Annual Report, total revenue reached RMB 460 million, up 18.4% year over year. More importantly, the Company successfully reversed its gross loss of RMB 67.2 million recorded in 2024, reporting a gross profit of RMB 32 million in 2025.

The first half of 2026 marks a further acceleration of this turnaround. Building upon a low comparison base from the previous year, gross profit has expanded dramatically, reflecting the strong earnings potential of the Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center Proton Therapy Center following its transition into full-scale clinical operation.

This trajectory closely mirrors the development pattern observed at leading proton therapy centers worldwide.Officially entering full operation in December 2024, the Guangzhou Concord Proton Therapy Center became the first proton therapy facility in South China to commence full clinical operations. The center is equipped with four 360-degree rotating gantry treatment rooms and has a designed annual treatment capacity of 2,000 patients.During 2025, the center treated more than 550 patients across over 40 cancer indications. By July 2026, cumulative patient volume had exceeded 1,000, with daily treatment sessions surpassing 100. Patients have come from all 31 provincial-level regions across China as well as more than 20 countries worldwide.

International experience demonstrates that proton therapy centers generally follow a three-stage development curve: construction, ramp-up, and scale expansion. Given the substantial upfront capital investment and high fixed operating costs, profitability during the early years is typically limited. However, as patient volume continues to increase, fixed costs are progressively absorbed, allowing operating efficiency and profitability to improve significantly.Surpassing 1,000 cumulative treatments represents an important operational milestone for the Guangzhou Concord Proton Therapy Center, indicating that it is entering a new phase of scaled operations. As treatment volume continues to grow, the center is expected to benefit from substantial operating leverage—a characteristic that distinguishes proton therapy from conventional radiotherapy services. Once patient volume exceeds the breakeven threshold, profitability has the potential to accelerate rapidly.

Business Mix Continues to Improve: Hospital Operations Become the Primary Growth Engine

A closer look at Concord Healthcare's 2025 Annual Report reveals another noteworthy trend—the continued optimization of its business mix.Revenue from the Company's hospital operations reached RMB 373 million in 2025, representing a 37.4% year-on-year increase and accounting for 81.2% of total revenue. By comparison, revenue from medical equipment, software, and related services declined to RMB 86.67 million, representing 18.4% of total revenue.

This shift reflects the successful execution of Concord Healthcare's long-term strategic transformation—from a business model that relied primarily on medical equipment solutions with relatively volatile margins to one centered on sustainable, high-value oncology healthcare services with stronger competitive barriers.The hospital segment's 37.4% revenue growth and 9.3% gross margin indicate that the Company's premium oncology service model is steadily maturing.Unlike conventional medical service businesses, proton therapy centers are characterized by substantial capital investment and high fixed operating costs. Equipment depreciation, maintenance expenses, and highly specialized clinical personnel represent a significant portion of operating costs, placing considerable pressure on profitability during the initial years of operation.However, as patient volume increases, these fixed costs are spread across a larger treatment base, allowing gross margins to improve rapidly. This operating pattern has already begun to materialize at the Guangzhou Concord Proton Therapy Center.This is consistent with the development trajectory observed at mature proton therapy centers worldwide. Once the initial ramp-up phase is completed, a proton therapy center typically benefits from strong operating leverage, with profitability accelerating alongside continued growth in treatment volume.

Notably, Concord Healthcare's proprietary AI-powered imaging solution received medical device regulatory approval in the second half of 2025, while its internally developed large language model (LLM) for proton therapy has already been deployed in clinical practice. Integrated into imaging analysis and proton therapy workflows, these technologies are improving clinical efficiency, standardizing treatment processes, and strengthening the Company's digital capabilities for future international technology exports.

A Favorable Industry Outlook: A Golden Era for Private Oncology Healthcare

Concord Healthcare's improving financial performance is not an isolated event. Rather, it reflects a broader structural shift taking place across China's oncology healthcare industry.

According to data from China Research Puhua Institute, China's oncology healthcare services market is projected to expand from RMB 495.1 billion in 2022 to RMB 768.7 billion by 2026. Within this market, the private oncology healthcare segment is expected to grow even faster, exceeding RMB 109.2 billion by 2026 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% between 2022 and 2026.Demographic trends continue to provide strong long-term demand. China's aging population is expanding rapidly, with official data from the National Bureau of Statistics showing that the population aged 60 and above reached 310 million in 2024. As cancer incidence rises significantly with age, demographic changes are expected to drive sustained growth in demand for high-quality oncology diagnosis and treatment services.

Policy support is also creating favorable industry conditions.The Healthy China Action – Cancer Prevention and Control Implementation Plan (2023–2030) proposes the establishment of 500 additional standardized oncology treatment centers nationwide, while the 14th Five-Year National Health Plan emphasizes optimizing the healthcare delivery system and accelerating the standardized development of specialized cancer hospitals.Meanwhile, China's ongoing DRG/DIP payment reforms are reshaping the economics of healthcare providers by encouraging hospitals to transition from a pharmaceutical-driven revenue model toward one based on high-value medical technologies and clinical services. Institutions capable of delivering superior treatment outcomes while maintaining strong cost discipline are expected to gain an increasingly competitive advantage.

Against this backdrop, China's evolving multi-tier healthcare system—characterized by "public hospitals providing essential healthcare services, while private hospitals specialize in advanced medical care"—has become an important direction of healthcare reform.With its strategic focus on precision radiation oncology and proton therapy, Concord Healthcare is well positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for highly specialized cancer care, an area where private healthcare providers possess clear differentiation advantages.

International Expansion: From Guangzhou to Central Asia and Southeast Asia

Beyond its improving domestic operations, another development attracting investors' attention is Concord Healthcare's transition toward a dual-engine growth strategy combining hospital operations with international technology and management exports.Just one day before issuing its positive profit alert, the Company announced another significant milestone: the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan to establish and operate a Gamma Knife Radiosurgery Center at the National Medical Center in Tashkent.The project will adopt a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model under which Concord Healthcare will fully finance, develop, and operate the center over a 15-year cooperation period.

The agreement represents a major step in the Company's expansion into the Central Asian healthcare market.Leveraging its extensive expertise in radiation oncology, Gamma Knife operations, hospital management, and AI-enabled clinical technologies, Concord Healthcare is exporting not only medical services but also operational know-how and integrated healthcare solutions. The project is expected to serve as a replicable model for future international collaborations.The overseas Gamma Knife business is strategically complementary to the Company's proton therapy operations in Guangzhou. Together, they provide the foundation for establishing cross-border multidisciplinary consultation (MDT) services, international referral networks, and collaborative treatment pathways.Compared with the traditional model of one-time medical equipment sales, long-term operational partnerships offer significantly greater strategic value. They generate recurring service revenue while enabling the export of comprehensive healthcare capabilities—including hospital management systems, AI software platforms, clinical training programs, and operational standards.

As stated clearly in the Company’s 2025 annual report, “We will take cooperation in Indonesia as a strategic starting point to tap into the blue-ocean oncology medical market in Southeast Asia, home to a population of around 700 million people.” Expanding its footprint from South China to Central Asia and Southeast Asia, Concord Healthcare is advancing its transformation from a local high-end medical service provider to an international exporter of medical technologies and clinical standards.

The Value of Long-Term Execution Begins to Emerge

Returning to the Company's positive profit alert, it is important to maintain an objective perspective. The financial figures disclosed are based on unaudited gross profit estimates, and Concord Healthcare reported a net loss of RMB 306 million for full-year 2025. Future financial performance will continue to depend on sustained growth in patient volume and further improvements in operational efficiency.That said, the Company's operating trajectory has become increasingly clear. Its proton therapy business is entering the early stages of scalable commercialization, while the hospital segment continues to demonstrate strong growth momentum. Coupled with the gradual rollout of international projects, Concord Healthcare appears well positioned to deliver a significantly stronger financial performance in 2026.

More importantly, this positive profit alert provides early validation of the Company's long-term strategy. It demonstrates the commercial viability of a business model built on long investment cycles, substantial capital commitment, and high barriers to entry—characteristics that define the premium oncology healthcare sector. As cancer care continues to evolve toward precision medicine, supported by rapid advances in artificial intelligence and next-generation radiotherapy, Concord Healthcare has steadily built differentiated capabilities across proton therapy technology, hospital operations, and clinical expertise. Together with its expanding international footprint, these strengths are positioning the Company for sustainable long-term growth.

Conclusion

A positive profit alert often reflects more than an improvement in a single company's financial performance—it can also signal a broader inflection point for an industry.Over the past eight years, Concord Healthcare has established a leading position in China's proton therapy market through sustained investment and disciplined execution. Today's improving profitability represents not only stronger financial performance but also growing confidence that China's private oncology healthcare sector is moving from catching up with global leaders to helping shape the future of advanced cancer care. Driven by demographic trends, continuous technological innovation, and rising demand for precision oncology, the industry's growth story is still in its early stages. Having successfully transitioned from building one of China's most advanced proton therapy centers to operating it at an increasingly meaningful scale, Concord Healthcare is now entering the next phase of long-term value creation.