24 Sep 2014

Comvita predicts sales up, profit down

3:27 pm on 24 September 2014

Comvita is expecting a significant rise in sales for the six months ending September.

The natural health and honey business estimates first-half, year-on-year revenue will go up from $43 million to $56 million.

However, net profit for the six months will be a loss of about $4 million, compared with an $800,000 loss for the same time last year.

That will come as no surprise to shareholders, who were told in July to prepare for a bigger drop in profit.

However, Comvita expects full-year profit will be between $9 million and $10 million - a rise from $7.7 million from the year before.

Chief executive Brett Hewlett said the first-half results would look poor on paper.

"When we announce our half-year result in November, it will appear on the surface as of we're going backwards, because the net result is going to be approximately negative $4 million for the half-year.

"That can be explained by a phemonena around the year of two halves that we've signalled to the market, around northern hemisphere sales versus southern hemisphere sales where we have little over 60 percent of our revenue comes from in the second half of the year. We hit our stride in the northern hemisphere markets, particularly in Asia."

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