Sydney - Monday - August 14: (RWE Aust Business News) - Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX:API) reported a net profit of $20.56 million for the year to April 30 2006, down 40.88 per cent on the prior year's $34.78m profit. The result was affected by one-off other expenses of $17.2 million and delayed because of difficulties with the implementation of the IT system changeover. Revenue was up 11.14pc to $2.58 billion. A dividend of 3c, fully franked, will be paid, bringing the total for the year to 9.25c. The payment date is September 8 with record date August 29. Earnings per share is 7.3c against 13.5c previously.
***** Outlook Despite the retail division sales for May and June being approximately 13pc higher than last year the performance of the business will be affected by the current retail trading conditions and the cost of resolving the accounting issue.
***** Result Divisional revenue increased to $520.9 million, up significantly on the prior year, primarily due to the full year contribution and growth of the New Price Retail business. Pharmacy distribution revenue for the year, at $2.02bn, was relatively flat compared to the prior year, reflecting low PBS growth and the increasing penetration of generics. In consumer brands API centralised its consumer products manufacturing in New Zealand. The division achieved revenue for the year of $40.8 million, up 19pc on the previous corresponding period. The underlying results for the division resulted in a profit in the second half and a break-even position for the year, a significant improvement on the underlying $12 million EBIT loss in the prior full year.
API Price at posting:
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