This morning Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) released its results for the financial year ending June 30, 2019. Below is a summary of the results with comparisons to the prior year.
- Sales of $6.2b, up 11.6%
- EBITDA $1.1b, up 13.3%
- Net profit $550.6m, up 15.6%
- Earnings per share $1.22, up 9%
- Final dividend 51cps, up 4.1%
- Total dividends 84cps, up 3.7%
- Net debt of $2,229m, down from $2,483m
- Guidance for EBITDA growth 6-8% on underlying FY 2019 EBITDA of A$1,052 million
Sonic's CEO, Dr Colin Goldschmidt, said: "Sonic Healthcare has produced another solid financial result in the 2019 financial year, in line with our expectations. Strategically we have taken major steps forward, opening up new pathways for future growth."
The steps forward the CEO refers to include the acquisitions of Aurora Diagnostics and Pathology Trier, the formation of a hospital laboratory joint venture with ProMedica Health System, and wining laboratory contracts from the UK's NHS.
The group is well diversified geographically after pursuing an organic and acquisitive growth strategy over the years, with around 75% of sales evenly split between the US, Australia and Germany, alongside the rest of the world making up the difference.
Organic revenue for the group over FY 2019 was up a respectable 4%, while earnings per share climbed even faster despite the group raising $928 million over the year to fund the aforementioned acquisitions.
Thanks to some good management and its position servicing the strong long term demand for healthcare imaging and diagnostic services the company has a second-to-none track record of long term profit, dividend, and share price growth.
