AUSTRALIAN Pharmaceutical Industries is writing down the value of some of its assets by $131 million.
The owner of the Priceline, Soul Pattinson and Pharmacist Advice brands says the one-off impairment is mainly related to changes to the value of its loans to pharmacies, and a review of the expected growth of its retail network.
The company on Thursday said its underlying performance is strong, with its half year net profit, excluding the asset writedowns, set to rise by 29 per cent to $16.2 million.
“Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy recorded reported sales growth of 11.5 per cent, with comparable retail sales growth of 5.3 per cent,” chief executive Stephen Roche said.
API is due to publish its finalised half year results on April 30.
The company said its core assets had performed well and delivered strong results, giving the board confidence that API will continue to improve its underlying position following the impairments.
API shares were down two cents at 54.5 cents at 1130 AEST.
Source: Courier Mail