Estia Health bungles COVID headcount – The Australian Financial Review

It was a reassuring addendum to Monday mornings trading update from residential aged care operator Estia Health: that the company has had no known instance of COVID-19 infection amongst its past or current residents at the present time. That statement hit the ASXs market announcements platform at 8.30am.
At 9.58am, right before trading commenced, Estia was granted a trading pause, which at 10.17am became a halt. At 12.33pm came its update to earlier release. Uh-oh.
Subsequent to the lodgment of the earlier release, the company received advice that 13 residents at its Ardeer home have tested positive for COVID-19. From zero to 13 in a morning its almost like head office had forgotten to ask around its network for a few days. Anyone checked on Ardeer? Oh shit
The stock finished down 3.3 per cent, although well put that down to the goodwill impairment charge of between $124 million and $148 million as a result of ongoing uncertainty of future sector funding and financing, exacerbated by the issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its a tough business even at the best of times. Estias has been since Quadrant cobbled it together and dumped it on the public market with major shareholder Peter Arvanitis onboard and indebted up to his eyeballs, all right before the Turnbull government slashed its Aged Care Funding Instruments in the 2016 budget. There ends the history lesson.

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