BDMS profit slips as Cambodian and Gulf patients fall
Foreign patients are 27% to 28% of revenue at Thailand's largest private hospital group, and the two markets that shrank are the ones closed off by border and Gulf conflicts.
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services earned 15,848 million baht in 2025, about 1% less than in 2024, and then earned 7% less again in the first half of 2026. The company, Thailand's largest private hospital operator with 60 hospitals, points mainly to two groups of foreign patients who stopped travelling, though its filing also notes some Thai patients deferring non-urgent procedures.
What the 2025 numbers show
Operating income rose 4% to 113,206 million baht in 2025, according to the company's management discussion for the full year. Revenue from Thai patients grew 3%. Revenue from foreign patients grew 5%.
The split between the two has not moved: 72% Thai, 28% foreign, in both 2024 and 2025.
The foreign figure hides a sharp contrast. BDMS says Cambodian patients fell from about 3% of hospital revenue in 2024 to about 2% in 2025, after the Thai-Cambodian border conflict began in mid-2025. Without Cambodia, foreign patient revenue would have grown about 11%. Qatari patients rose 36%, Myanmar patients 31% and American patients 19%.
Profit grew slower than revenue for three reasons the filing names. Depreciation rose because two new hospitals and two bed expansions opened in 2025. Tax privileges from investment promotion measures shrank. And floods in Hat Yai in November 2025 shut Bangkok Hospital Hat Yai, a 193-bed hospital, for about three weeks. Adjusted for one-off items, 2025 net profit was 16,187 million baht, up 2%.
The first half of 2026
The Middle East conflict that began in March 2026 added a second drag. In the first quarter, revenue was flat at 28,554 million baht and net profit fell 7% to 4,058 million baht, as The Nation reported.
The second quarter was softer. According to BDMS's second-quarter 2026 filing, operating income rose 1% to 27,514 million baht while net profit fell 7% to 3,248 million baht. Foreign patient revenue fell 2%. Cambodian revenue was down 67% and Middle East revenue down 24%.
Strip out those two markets and foreign revenue grew 10%, led by Myanmar (up 42%), the United States (23%) and Australia (17%). That is why management calls the base resilient. The cost is visible in occupancy: 55% in the second quarter, against 61% a year earlier, with fewer inpatients from both Thai and foreign groups.
For the six months, net profit was 7,306 million baht. The company says it has seen signs of recovery in both Thai and Middle East patient revenue since the start of the second quarter.
Still building
BDMS is adding beds while occupancy is low. It has about 9,300 structural beds and plans around 9,600 by 2027. Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin opened a 50-bed building in July 2026, taking it to 114 beds, and Bangkok Hospital Surat reached 151 beds in June.
The larger bet is WellEra, launched in the second quarter: a 29 billion baht project of about 170,000 square metres in Lumpini, with a wellness clinic, a retreat, retail and residences developed with Capella. Construction is under way and completion is set for 2030. Proton therapy, which BDMS says will be a first for a Thai private hospital, is expected to start in 2029.
The next test is the third-quarter report. BDMS had published its third-quarter 2025 results by 13 November 2025, so a mid-November date is likely. The figure to watch is Middle East revenue. InnovestX put it at about 4% of BDMS revenue in January 2026, a small base, yet it fell by a quarter in the second quarter.
FAQ
How much of BDMS revenue comes from foreign patients?
In 2025 it was 28% of hospital revenue, unchanged from 2024. In the second quarter of 2026 it was 27%, the filing shows.
Why did BDMS profit fall in 2025?
Higher depreciation from new hospitals, smaller tax privileges and the Hat Yai flood outweighed 4% revenue growth. Adjusted for one-off items, profit rose 2%.
Which foreign patients are growing at BDMS?
Myanmar, the United States and Australia in 2026, and Qatar, Myanmar and the United States in 2025. Cambodia and the Middle East are falling.
Sources
- BDMS: Management discussion and analysis, full year 2025
- BDMS: Management discussion and analysis, second quarter 2026
- The Nation via Asia News Network: Q1 2026 headwinds drag on Thai private hospital revenues, profits
- Kaohoon International: BDMS delivers stable growth in 3Q25, 13 November 2025
- InnovestX: Healthcare sector note, 13 January 2026
