The owner of a chain of private hospitals across southern Africa, the Middle East and Switzerland, saw its earnings for the half year drop to 15 million pounds ($19.8 million) from 109 million pounds in the corresponding period last year.

"The Group remains cautious on second-half performance in the midst of uncertainty as to the full impact of the continuing pandemic and its economic aftermath," the UK-listed company said in a statement.

(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Edmund Blair)