Ryman Healthcare says it's on track

Retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare says it is on track to lift realised profits and dividends this year.

Chairman David Kerr told the company's annual meeting in Christchurch today that the company was trading well.

"We are ahead of last year and we are comfortable with the market expectations of our realised profits for the current year," Dr Kerr said.

In the year to March, Ryman reported a realised profit of $53 million, up 5 per cent from a year earlier.

Dr Kerr said the company was as busy as it had ever been, and demand for its new villages was strong.

Ryman had invested more than $100m in new villages this year, and would open large scale villages in Whangarei and Orewa over the next six months.

- NZPA