(Yicai Global) March 14 -- Shares of Ping An Healthcare and Technology rose after China's largest healthcare platform operator reported a 61 percent smaller annual loss as the firm cut investment in non-core businesses last year.

Ping An Healthcare [HKG: 1833], also known as Ping An Good Doctor, finished 2.7 percent higher at HKD18.26 (USD2.33) a share today, after soaring by as much as 7.9 percent at one point.

The net loss was CNY607.6 million (USD88.7 million) in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, versus CNY1.5 billion (USD219.1 million) in 2021, the Shanghai-based company’s earning report showed yesterday.

Ping An Good Doctor adopted a managed healthcare strategy last year, targeting resources at businesses that have high synergy with the strategy while cutting investment in those less relevant to the approach and less profitable, Chief Financial Officer Zang Luoqi said during the firm's earnings conference call yesterday.

The company’s gross profit margin rose 4 percentage points to 27.3 percent last year from 2021, she noted.

The internet-based healthcare firm, a unit of China's biggest insurer Ping An Insurance Group, is sticking to its goal to break even by 2025, a target it set two years ago. Management is confident about future financial performance, Zang added, noting that business is progressing as expected.

The new strategy led to a fall in revenue, according to Zang, who added that Ping An Good Doctor's brick-and-mortar healthcare centers faced some restrictions during China’s Covid-19 outbreak in the first half of 2022, also resulting in lower income.

Revenue fell 16 percent to CNY6.2 billion in 2022, the earnings report showed.

In the fourth quarter, Pin An Good Doctor began using ChatGPT-like bots to help with patients' health inquiries, Chairman and Chief Executive Fang Weihao said during the call regarding the growth in popularity of artificial intelligence-generated-content technology.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev