For most of us, the pandemic has been an utter disaster. But for some, it’s been two years of non-stop win. Oddly enough, the big winners from the pandemic — or more correctly, the response to it — are those with exactly the means and motivation to keep it going as long as they can.
BFD writer Cam has a favourite saying: between a conspiracy and a stuff-up, always bank on a stuff-up. But there’s a third option: opportunism. When events gift an opportunity to unscrupulous actors in a position to take advantage, what do you think they’re going to do?
Mainstream media love the pandemic because it literally keeps them alive: locked down, terrified populations had nothing else to do but click, watch, and consume a never-ending stream of fear-porn from the lying MSM. Australia’s state governments love the pandemic because the manufactured panic is a massive vote-winner, while the federal government has picked up the economic tab. Public health bureaucrats love the pandemic because it has made these grey nobodies famous and gifted them the sort of absolute power a feudal monarch would envy.
But there are other beneficiaries of the pandemic panic who have hundreds of millions of reasons to keep it rolling.
Taxpayer-funded Covid-19 tests have delivered a bonanza to listed pathology companies – such as Sonic Healthcare, Healius, Australian Clinical Labs and Integral Diagnostics – fuelling record earnings and generating billions of dollars in revenue.
But the companies have buckled under the soaring number of infections from the Omicron wave, opening the door for the widespread take-up of rapid antigen tests, which are limiting future revenue gains.
A conspiracy-minded person might put on their foil hat and mutter that’s just the reason for the chronic shortage of RATs. But, hey, when have the conspiracy theorists ever been right about the pandemic?
But Big Path isn’t about to go crying to the poor house.
Royal Bank of Canada analyst Craig Wong-Pan expects Covid-19 will continue to be lucrative for Australia’s diagnostics sector.
“Our base case scenario is for long-run Covid PCR testing revenues in Australia to be about $164m.”
Make no mistake, the pandemic has been a massive windfall for pathology companies.
The pandemic has delivered record earnings – 50-150 per cent earnings per share uplifts – which are expected to give pathology providers balance sheet room to consider mergers and acquisitions, particularly for Sonic.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has enabled, or forced, the diagnostic companies to de-lever their balance sheets either through asset sales and/or strong cashflow generation. The diagnostic companies now have record low levels of net debt and/or record levels of profitability,” Mr Wong-Pan said.
What that means is that the pathology companies have, on the back of the pandemic, been able to wipe off their debts and soar into the black.
Even without covid, pathology is a nice little earner.
“Between 2019-20 and 2030-31, Australia’s population is projected to continue to age, with the proportion of the population aged 65 and over projected to increase from 15.9 to 19.5 per cent. We believe that as the number of elderly people increases, the demand for healthcare services and diagnostic activities should also increase.
“Ageing populations and lifestyle factors such as higher levels of obesity are increasing the incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This drives demand for primary and secondary healthcare.
“Lastly, there has been a global shift to increased use of diagnostics to manage healthcare expenditure and activity.”
The Australian
So, an already-lucrative industry suddenly found itself showered with hundreds more millions, mostly funded by the taxpayer. Meanwhile, failing industries like the mainstream media just as suddenly found themselves thrown a lifeline. Politicians and bureaucrats are riding high, while facing absolutely no accounting for their failures — in fact the opposite.
At a smaller level, an army of bourgeois “laptop class” have got to stay at home and get paid for it, mostly by the taxpayer. No wonder they’re fanatics for “IStandWithDan”.
But I’m sure it’s just paranoia to think that they’ll want to keep it all rolling for as long as they possibly can.