Ebos Group's recent acquisitions helped the pharmaceutical and animal health products maker lift first-half profit 7.2 per cent and fatten its dividend to shareholders, while also bolstering the outlook for annual earnings.
Net profit rose to $68.8 million, or 45.4 cents per share, in the six months ended December 31 from $64.2m, or 42.5 cents, a year earlier, the Christchurch-based company said. Revenue climbed 21 per cent to $3.96 billion. Forsyth Barr analyst Chelsea Leadbetter was picking net profit of $68.8m on revenue of $3.76b.
Ebos said profit would have been $3.7m higher had the kiwi dollar not appreciated against its Australian counterpart, and it upgraded annual guidance for underlying profit to be at the upper end of a previous projection for growth of 7-to-10 per cent.
Chief executive Patrick Davies told BusinessDesk that the firm's diverse portfolio helped offset any softness in some areas of the group. He's optimistic about the medium-term prospects for the group, with healthcare set to benefit from an aging demographic and spending on animal health on the rise.
"We think we're in some pretty good segments, that over the long term will continue to do reasonably well," Davies said. "We're exposed to underlying themes that are good, that are positive - you might see some bumps in the road but over the longer term good business in healthcare and animal care should do well."