Abano Healthcare, which invests in specialist health clinics, expects weaker first-half profit on administrative charges, even as it boosts sales by as much as 19 percent.
Outgoing chairman Alison Paterson told shareholders at their annual meeting in Auckland the company faces some charges to the bottom-line, although it expects to see underlying earnings and sales growth.
That includes new finance and depreciation costs, as well as accounting rule charges dueto the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) regime, which will leave net profit between $200,000 and $700,000 in the six months ending November 30, down from $2.2 million a year ago.
"Our accelerating dental acquisition programme will result in full IFRS reporting charges, but will only show a small portion of their full period performance benefits," Ms Paterson said in speech notes.
Abano expects first-half revenue to be between $101.5 million and $103.5 million, up from $86.7 million a year earlier, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation are forecast to be between $11 million and $12 million, up from $9.4 million a year ago.
Abano said it expects to be making annual dividend payments of at least 21 cents per share by 2015 on the back of its growth strategy. That's what it paid out in the 12 months ended May 31, and the previous two years.
NZN