UPDATE: F&P Healthcare says earnings will increase this year

UPDATE: F&P Healthcare says earnings will increase further this year

(Adds investor comment starting in fifth paragraph, updates shares)

By Tina Morrison

May 29 (BusinessDesk) - Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, the medical device maker, beat its forecast for annual profit and said earnings would rise further in the coming year.

Net profit rose 17 percent to $113.2 million in the year ended March 31, ahead of its forecast range of $105 million to $110 million, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue increased 8 percent to $672.3 million, ahead of the forecast $660 million.

The company today forecast profit in the coming year of $125 million to $130 million, on revenue of $750 million.

The company, which competes with Resmed and Respironics, boosted sales of respiratory and acute care products by 9.3 percent to $368.2 million, and sales of obstructive sleep apnea devices by 7.8 percent to $291.1 million. It expanded its gross margin to 61.1 percent, from 58.6 percent the year earlier, as it sold more higher-margin masks and tubing.

"The outlook is very good," said Stuart Williams, head of equities at Nikko Asset Management, New Zealand. "I think that they are in a sweet spot with both of their ranges of product."

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare stock is Nikko's largest overweight position in its $400 million portfolio of equities.

The medical device maker estimates its market share of masks is moving into the "mid-teens" from "low double digit" levels, chief executive Michael Daniell said on a conference call.

The company's margins are also benefiting from increased production at its factory in Mexico, which produces about 30 percent of its consumable devices, up from about 20 percent the year earlier. The company said it expects 50 percent of its consumables to be produced in Mexico over the next three to four years.

It exports the vast majority of its products. Excluding the impacts of currency movements, revenue rose 13 percent and operating profit jumped 57 percent, it said.

Foreign exchange hedging gains contributed $27.9 million to operating profit last year, down from a $54.6 million gain the year earlier.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares jumped 5.6 percent to $6.65. The company's stock will be included in Australia's benchmark ASX200 Index from next week, which may boost demand.

The company, which gets 43 percent of its sales from the US, will assume direct responsibility for its respiratory care products in that market from July 19 after previous distributor CareFusion was taken over by Becton Dickinson. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has expanded its distribution centre in the US and is doubling the size of its US hospital sales and support team.

An inventory sell down by the current distributors will have a temporary effect on respiratory and acute care revenue growth in the first half of this year, Daniell said. Still, the increased focus that directly selling the company's products will bring is expected to support an increase in revenue growth over time, he said.

In the past year, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare increased research and development spending by 20 percent to $65 million. Its updated AIRVO flow generator system with new breathing tube technology, a new nasal cannula range, and portable power supply is the first of a number of new products to be launched over the next 18 months, Daniell said.

The company will pay a final dividend of 8 cents per share on July 10, up from 7 cps the year earlier. It expects to pay out about 70 percent of net profit after tax to maintain its target gearing ratio, compared with a previous aim of more than 60 percent. Its annual dividend of 13.8 cps equates to 68 percent of net profit.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's gearing declined to 10.3 percent at March 31, from 21 percent a year earlier, and came within the company's previous target range of 5 percent to 15 percent. It revised its target today to between 5 percent and negative 5 percent.

The change means they could have net cash on the balance sheet "which is very impressive", said Nikko's Williams.

(BusinessDesk)

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