Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has reported revenue and profit growth in the first half. Photo: Supplied
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has reported revenue and profit growth in the first half, despite rising costs and a drop in demand.
"Our first half result indicates a continuation of stable ordering patterns in our hospital business and a robust performance for homecare," chief executive Lewis Gradon said.
Key numbers for the 6 months ended September compared with a year ago:
- Net profit $107.3m vs $95.9m up12%
- Revenue $803.7m vs $690.6m up 16%
- Expenses $333.5m vs 286.5m up 16%
- Gross margin 60.5% vs 59.8% up 65 basis points
- Interim/final dividend 18 cents a share vs 17.5 cps up 3%
The hospital product group's revenue rose 11 percent, with consumable application sales accounting for much of the growth.
However, Gradon said the affect of Covid-19 on growth rates will be felt through the balance of the year ending in March.
"We continued to see strong demand for hospital consumables across the product portfolio in the first half, and hardware demand was solid. We remain pleased with the progress we are making on changing clinical practice."
Revenue in the homecare product group rose 26 percent, which included products used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and respiratory support in the home.
"Evora Full has been available in the United States for more than a year, and it continues to see impressive demand and positive customer feedback," Gradon said.
Highlights of the half include the launch of its Solo brand OSA mask to the New Zealand and Australian markets, and the opening of its third manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Mexico.
"We are set to build on this momentum next year as our revolutionary new F&P Solo mask is rolled out beyond New Zealand and Australia."
While supply chain costs had eased, the company was seeing increased material costs.
"Headwinds such as freight rates and manufacturing inefficiencies continue to ease, while inflationary raw material and manufacturing costs remain key areas of focus for our teams," he said, adding the company was expecting to return to its gross profit margin target of 65 percent within three to four years.
The company was expecting full year revenue of about $1.7b, with net profit in a range of $250m to $260m.
"Historically, sales of our hospital consumables are typically higher in the second half, reflecting seasonal patterns of hospitals," Gradon said.
"We are currently expecting that our revenue guidance approximation incorporates the range of pre-Covid historical seasonality in hospital consumables."