The Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG) share price has risen by 8.4% today after revealing its report for the half-year to 31 December 2017.
Regis is one of the largest aged care providers in Australia, here are some of the highlights compared to the prior corresponding period:
- Revenue up by 4% to $297 million
- Net profit after tax (NPAT) down 13% to $27.86 million
- Earnings per share (EPS) down 11.9% to 9.27 cents
- Dividend per share down 10% to 9.28 cents
Regis increased its total operational places to 6,436 from 6,027 last year. This increase reflected the opening of Regis Chelmer in Queensland and the Presbyterian Care Tasmania acquisition.
The average occupancy decreased to 93.1% from 95.3%, which reflects the experience that the industry has faced recently.
The aged care company managed to increase its revenue per occupied bed day to $284 from $281 in the previous financial year, however the government income per occupied bed day was consistent at $197.
The company said that the net operating cashflow of $59.1 million and the net refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) cashflow of $23.2 million were impacted by occupancy pressure.
Net debt stood at $347.9 million after $143.3 million of acquisitions and developments has been spent. The company said that 173 net new places were created with the opening of the Chelmer Facility in Queensland and the Burnside Facility in South Australia.
Outlook
'Normalised' earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to be in line with the first half. 'Normalised' NPAT is predicted to be between $56 million to $58 million excluding the one-off transaction costs.
Foolish takeaway
The market clearly liked the result as the share price has grown 8.3% today in response. Ultimately, I was a tad disappointed that the profit, dividend and occupancy decreased but I suppose that's just part of the journey towards long-term growth for the industry. I would describe it as a 'hold' at today's price.
