Australia's Ramsay Health Care flags lower annual net profit

Australia's Ramsay Health Care RHC on Monday forecast its earnings from continuing operations for fiscal 2024 to be slightly lower than the previous year, mostly due to non-cash impairments and writedowns on operations in France and the UK.

Shares of the healthcare firm slid nearly 2% to their lowest levels in more than 10 years.

The country's largest independent hospital operator said it expects to report net profit after tax and minority interests from continuing operations for fiscal 2024 between A$265 million ($172 million) and A$270 million, a touch below the A$278.2 million reported last year.

The firm recorded non-cash impairments and accelerated writedowns on the book value of certain underperforming assets at both its French and UK operations of A$24.5 million.

This resulted in the firm expecting annual depreciation, amortisation and impairments charge to be around A$1.13 billion, higher than a previously guided range of A$1 billion to A$1.1 billion.

Non-recurring items are expected to make a total negative contribution to the fiscal year result of about A$29.5 million after tax and minority interests, compared to a positive contribution of A$27.5 million in the previous year, the company said in a statement.

($1 = 1.5370 Australian dollars)