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Just two months after Prime Minister Helen Clark hailed Comvita as a Kiwi export success story, the natural healthcare company is warning of a $1.2 million loss for the half-year to June 30.
Comvita blamed the change in fortune on the high currency and delayed shipments to its main export markets caused by tighter regulatory standards.
The $1.2 million figure clarifies the extent of a loss the company predicted in an April outlook, and compares with a $602,000 net profit after tax for the previous corresponding period.
Comvita shares fell 6c to $3.74 after the announcement yesterday.
Chairman Neil Craig said the company had made investments in staff, infrastructure, research and development, intellectual property and acquisitions during last year and the first half of this year in the expectation of a stronger start to the year, but that had failed to eventuate.
"First half-year sales were off target as we had the twin impacts of a record high New Zealand dollar and dealing with recently and significantly tightened regulatory standards for most of our products in our main export markets," he said.
Revenue growth is expected to be up 5 per cent on the same period the year before and export sales have risen 8 per cent, but those rises were well below budgeted levels, the company said.
Export sales grew 39 per cent last year.
Craig said the company had boosted staff from 109 people to 155 in a year to meet what he called great demand for its exports, but a hiccup in delivery to its main export markets - Europe and the United Kingdom - had affected its ability to meet those targets.
Chief executive Brett Hewlett said stringent new regulatory regimes introduced in some export markets had meant the company had had to do extra testing, manufacturing and quality control procedures at considerable cost.
Craig said that at the start of the year Comvita had expected to exceed its average annual average growth rate of more than 20 per cent, and didn't expect to catch up even though the delays were now "largely behind us".
But the company still expected to post a positive full-year result.
