Coronavirus: F&P Healthcare shares rally sharply after upgrade

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare chief executive Lewis Gradon. Photo / NZ Herald

Shares in Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rallied by just under 10 per cent after the company upgraded its earnings prospects on the back of a weaker Kiwi dollar and on increased demand for its respiratory products arising from the coronavirus outbreak.

F&P Healthcare - New Zealand's biggest listed company by market capitalisation - now expects a net profit for the March year to a range of $275m to $280m, up from a previous guidance of $260m to $270m.

The company said it was ramping up production to cope with demand brought on by Covid-19, which attacks sufferers' respiratory systems.

By early afternoon, the stock was up $2.47 or 9.8 per cent at $27.67 while the rest of the market was still reeling from the biggest decline on Wall Street since the 1987 crash.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare chief executive Lewis Gradon. Photo / NZ Herald

F&P Healthcare's old guidance, which assumed a US64c exchange rate, was for revenue of $1.20 billion. Under the revised guidance, assuming an exchange rate of US61c, the figure has risen to $1.24b.

"Assuming a NZ-US exchange rate of approximately US61cs and a NZ-EU exchange rate of approximately 55 cents for the rest of the financial year, the company expects full-year operating revenue to be approximately $1.24 billion and net profit after tax to be within the range of approximately $275 million to $280 million," it said in a statement.

F&P Healthcare's respiratory humidifiers and consumables are directly involved in treating patients with coronavirus.

"We have seen an increase in demand globally and have ramped up our manufacturing output," chief executive Lewis Gradon said.

"At the same time, we have benefited from stronger sales in our Homecare product group and a weakening of the NZ dollar," chief executive Lewis Gradon said.

"We are very appreciative of the support that we have received from our suppliers and from government agencies globally during this challenging time," he said.

Graden said F&P Healthcare employees were working "tirelessly" to manufacture products, support operations and supply and train end-users.

"I know our team is doing everything we can to meet the needs of our customers and the
patients who use our products," Gradon said.

The company's result is due on May 28.