Sydney - Monday - August 14: (RWE Aust Business News)...

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.

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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.


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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.