COH, FPH, RMD, SHL, RHC: How are these ASX healthcare giants performing?

Highlights:

• Healthcare sector has been on the investors’ radar since the outbreak of Covid-19.
• Research and development component of the healthcare sector makes it an interesting investment option as successful research can push a healthcare firm to heights.
• Also, on ASX, Australian healthcare sector has outperformed the benchmark index in terms of five-year performance.

The healthcare sector has been garnering much of attention after the breakout of coronavirus. Now, the advent of monkeypox has become a concern of national safety and increased the limelight on the entire sector of healthcare.

The sector has gained the attention from investors as well as it provides exposure to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, medical device manufacturers and operators of medical facilities listed on ASX.

Healthcare can also be seen as an exciting sector as most of the companies in this sector are engaged in research and development. Research and development-based firms are capable of making a medical breakthrough and help companies grow globally in a very short span of time.

Talking about the Australian healthcare sector, it has outperformed the broader benchmark index, ASX 200, in terms of the past five years’ performance. In 5 years, ASX 200 Health Care (INDEXASX:XHJ) gained 87.80%, whereas ASX 200 recorded a rise of 21.69%.

On this note, we are discussing ASX-listed healthcare giants – Cochlear Limited, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited, Ramsay Health Care Limited, Sonic Healthcare Limited, and ResMed Inc.

Cochlear Limited (ASX:COH)

Cochlear is an AU$14.14 billion market capitalisation company that manufactures and sells Cochlear implant systems. The company claims to be the global leader in implantable hearing solutions that assists people of all ages in leading active and full lives.

The company delivered AU$1,641 million of sales revenue during the financial year 2022 (FY22), 10% higher than the previous year. Underlying net profit grew by 18%, and the underlying net profit margin dropped by 17%. During the year, the company reported a strong cash flow, and it supported the full-year dividend. Full year dividend of Cochlear increased by 18%, in line with the 70% target payout.

The stock closed 0.2555% lower at AU$214.460 per share on 24 August 2022.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited (ASX:FPH)

Image source: © Ronstik | Megapixl.com

Fisher & Paykel, an AU$10.30 billion market cap company, deals with the medical systems and devices that are used for surgery, acute care, respiratory care and treating obstructive sleep apnea. FPH’s technologies and medical devices assist clinicians in delivering the best patient care possible. The company is engaged in continuously pioneering new therapies, improving its products and changing clinical practices.

In FY22, the company recorded a net profit after tax (NPAT) of AU$376.9 million and revenue of AU$1.68 billion. In comparison to the previous year, the profit has declined; still, the board announced a dividend of 22.5 cents per share. With this, the full-year dividend reached 39.5 cents per share, a surge of 4% on 2021.

The stock FPH ended 1.400% strong at AU$18.100 per share today (24 August 2022).

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX:RHC)

Ramsay Health Care is an AU$16.50 billion market cap company that operates a range of healthcare facilities across the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Indonesia, France and Australia. The company offers quality health care services via a global network of research, teaching and clinical practices. It was founded in 1964 by Paul Ramsay.

Ramsay is yet to release its full-year results. The expected date of the results is 26 August 2022; therefore, we will be looking at the third quarter results.

The company recorded an unaudited Group NPAT of AU$201.6 million for the nine months, a fall of 38.9% on pcp. Excluding non-recurring items, the unaudited NPAT of AU$269.7 million was recorded, a surge of 6.8%. Covid-19 related distributions and operating costs weighed heavily on the company’s financial performance as absenteeism increased.

Ramsay shares closed trading at AU$72.380 per share, up 0.388%.

Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX:SHL)

Sonic has a market capitalisation of AU$15.93 billion and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The company is a renowned healthcare provider internationally with a speciality in corporate medical devices, general practice medicines, radiology, medicine and pathology.

Sonic said that the company delivered record earnings and revenue during the financial year because of the Covid-19 related testing, acquisitions and base business growth. Around AU$628 million was invested by the firm in joint ventures and synergetic acquisitions.

The company recorded a 7% rise in revenue, 11% surge in EBITDA, 11% rise in net profit and 11% growth in earnings per share. Covid-related revenue increased by 13% in comparison to the previous year.

Sonic Healthcare shares closed at AU$35.240 apiece, up 6.176% on Wednesday.

Image source: © Flynt | Megapixl.com

ResMed Inc (ASX:RMD)

ResMed is an AU$48.18 billion market cap company that manufactures medical devices. The dual-listed company that keeps people away from hospitals and empowers people to live higher-quality and healthier lives. The cloud-connected medical devices of ResMed assists people with COPD, sleep apnea and other chronic diseases. Reportedly, the company operates in over 140 countries.

In the financial year 2022, the company reported a 4% surge in revenue on a year-over-year basis. The income from operations surged by 6%, and the gross margin rose 110bps to 57.1%. While sharing its final quarter results, the board of ResMed announced a quarterly dividend of AU$0.44per share which will be payable on 22 September 2022.

The stock RMD ended today’s trade at AU$32.520 per share, down 1.185% on Wednesday, 24 August 2022.