Synergy Health plc today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2012.
The interim dividend has increased almost 16% to 7.9p.
| Six months ended 30 September 2012 | Six months ended 2 October 2011 | % change | |
| Revenue | £171.6m | £155.3m | + 10.5% |
| Adjusted operating profit | £26.6m | £23.1m | + 15.2% |
| Adjusted profit before tax | £23.8m | £20.6m | + 15.7% |
| Profit before tax | £18.2m | £16.6m | + 9.8% |
| Adjusted basic earnings per share | 31.50p | 28.42p | + 10.8% |
| Dividend per share (interim) | 7.90p | 6.82p | + 15.8% |
| Operating cash flow | £43.3m | £36.4m | + 18.9% |
| Net debt | £180.3m | £149.2m |
Financial Highlights
- Strong reported revenue growth up 10.5% to £171.6 million
- Underlying revenue growth, excluding currency effects, up 14.2%
- Adjusted operating profit* up 15.2% to £26.6 million
- Adjusted EBITDA up 11.2% to £46.5 million
- Interim dividend up 15.8%, reflecting growth in underlying earlings
- Net debt increased to £180.3 million from £173.5 million at 1 April 2012, reflecting the payment of deferred contingent consideration for BeamOne LLC ('BeamOne'), the acquisition of SRI/Surgical Express, Inc ('SRI') and capital investments in new facilities in Costa Rica and France
Operational Highlights
- A solid first half with strong revenue growth in Asia & Africa and the Americas offsetting weaker growth in Europe & Middle East and UK & Ireland
- UK & Ireland affected by a number of one-off events, including the Olympics
- Good cost control has helped to lift Group operating margins by 0.6%
- The integration of both the Swiss gamma and X-ray facilities and the small hospital sterilisation business in New York, has progressed well
- In July 2012 the Group completed the acquisition of SRI for £25.5 million
- The integration and turnaround of SRI is going well and is ahead of plan
- The United States hospital sterilisation bid pipeline looks promising, with bids in progress for revenue in excess of $60 million per annum
Outlook
Although the economic environment in Europe & Middle East and UK & Ireland remains a challenge, we are increasing our investment in business development and strengthening the senior team.
The Americas and Asia & Africa continue to show solid growth and we expect to see further developments over the coming 18 months that will increase the importance of these two regions.
The Group is progressing in line with the Board's expectations for the full year.
Richard Steeves, Chief Executive of Synergy Health, said:
"Despite the ongoing economic challenges, particularly in Europe, I am very pleased with the resilience of the Group, and the progress that it continues to make."
"Our strategy of bringing forward investment in the United States has been well timed and will support our global growth objectives. The acquisition of SRI has given Synergy a real presence and management depth, opening up a number of new business development opportunities."
