Fisher and Paykel Healthcare [ASX:FPH] has revealed that business has not been quite as smooth as it had been a year ago, saying that revenue had fallen 6% over the course of the 2023 financial year.
Revenue dropped to NZ$1.6 billion (AU$1.5 billion), ultimately taking net profit 34% lower than it was a year ago to NZ$250 million.
The group has also surmised it will be expecting 2024 financial year full-year operating revenue in a similar ballpark as FY23 — NZ$1.7 billion.
FPH shares slid more than 4% in morning trade, trading hands for $22.95 at the time of writing. In the year the stock’s value has gained 27%:
Source: TradingView
Fisher & Paykel’s 2023 preliminary financial results
Reporting from Auckland earlier on Friday morning, medical products manufacturer and marketing group Fisher & Paykel Healthcare decided it would share its initial reflections of the full year ended 31 March 2023.
The group reported total operating revenue for the full year fiscal 2023 reached NZ$1.58 billion, which was down 6% on the same time last year in fiscal 2022. This was calculated at a 9% decline on a constant currency basis (including the impacts of constant currency and exchange rate fluctuations).
Net profit after tax (NPAT) had come to NZ$250.3 million, another decline, this time of 34% on the previous year, or a 29% decline on a constant currency basis.
FPH said that for the second half alone, operating revenue was noted to have grown 14% to NZ$890.5 million (or 12% in constant currencies), which it said had been driven by stronger numbers in its hospital segment, with new applications, consumables, and OSA masks bolstering revenue over the six months.
Hospital product group revenue for the full year was NZ$1.02 billion, a 15% decrease compared to the previous year and an 18% decrease in constant currency.
Hospital hardware sales were also down 53% in constant currency compared to the 2022 financial year, a year that was more heavily impacted by global COVID-19 surges.
The group pointed out that during the 2023 financial year, hardware sales in countries or regions that did not experience COVID-19 surges were tracking somewhat close to pre-pandemic patterns.
Gross margin for the year was 59.4%, a 369-basis-point decrease in constant currency and impacted by a continuation of elevated freight costs and manufacturing issues.
However, homecare product group revenue for the full year had hit a new record of NZ$553.8 million, 18% higher than the previous year, and 13% higher in constant currency.
FPH CEO Lewis Gradon commented:
‘We are coming out of three financial years that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and our people, suppliers and customers have worked tirelessly to meet global demand surges. The second half result was encouraging as market conditions progressed towards more of a normal state and both our Hospital and Homecare product groups delivered good growth.’
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s board of directors approved a final dividend of 23.0 cents per share for the second half of the year. This brings the total dividend for the 2023 financial year to 40.5 cents per share, an increase of 3% over the 2022 financial year.
The group also made some guidance assumptions for the 2024 financial year, which included full-year operating revenue of NZ$1.7 billion, which is an expected split between both hospital and homecare product groups.
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For The Daily Reckoning Australia
