Business

Ryman lifts profit 42 percent

14:01 pm on 15 May 2014

Ryman Healthcare lifted annual net profit more than 42 percent, boosted by gains in the value of its properties as well as rising care and management fees.

The retirement village operator and developer lifted net profit for the 12 months ended March to $194.8 million from $136.7 million the previous year.

The company says underlying profit rose 18 percent, its 12th consecutive year of profit increases, and beat its own target of a 15 percent lift.

Ryman has also announced it has secured a site for its second village in Melbourne and that it plans to accelerate the rate at which it builds new villages from 2017. Ryman plans to build 700 units this year.

Chairman David Kerr says welcoming the first residents into Ryman's first village in Melbourne, the Weary Dunlop Village, was a significant milestone for his company.

Mr Kerr says Ryman has increased pay for its caregivers by 5 percent for the second year running, even though government funding has risen just 1 percent.