Orion Health's share price slammed on full-year guidance drop

Orion Health chief executive Ian McCrae. The company still expects to be profitable in 2018. Photo / Greg Bowker

Orion Health says full-year sales fell but it still expects to post a narrower loss and be profitable in 2018. It has been in talks with potential investors in the business.

Orion's share price fell 14.5 per cent to $1.65 shortly before 10:30am.

Operating revenue in the 12 months ended March 31 was probably between $194 million and $200m, down from $207m a year earlier, chief executive Ian McCrae said in a statement. The net loss was between $32m and $38m, compared to a loss of $54.4m in 2016, it said.

"A number of contracts that were expected to close before the end of FY2017 did not do so but remain in progress," said McCrae. "Management takes full responsibility for not executing as efficiently on the sales pipeline as had been forecast. The delay in the finalisation of contracts is not attributable to a specific factor as every potential customer situation is unique. Improved sales processes and forecasting are core areas of focus."

The company's closing cash position for the year is now projected to be between $2m and $6m and Orion said it has embarked on a strategic review that includes "discussions with a number of parties over the past quarter that may result in a partnership or minority investment in the company."

The talks were "preliminary and non-conclusive at this stage," the Auckland-based company's statement to the NZX said.

At September 30, Orion's cash balance stood at $24m.

Orion is 50.6 per cent owned by McCrae, who said that as the majority shareholder "I am directly aligned with all shareholders and this is not the outturn we had targeted."

"We have been taking, and continue to take, direct measures to right-size our costs with our revenue growth and despite the slippage, we remain on track with our profitability objective," he said. "The board and I remain focused on long-term shareholder value and will evaluate the merits of any partnerships or minority investments to help Orion Health achieve its potential."

The company said it was on track to turn a profit in 2018, a target it also affirmed at its annual meeting in September, when it noted that it was facing the headwinds of a strong kiwi dollar and burning through cash at a faster rate than expected.

The shares fell 0.2 per cent to $1.75. They first traded at $6.50 in their NZX debut on November 26, 2014.