Is Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) the best healthcare share on the ASX after issuing a business update?
Healius, formerly known as Primary Health Care Limited (ASX: PRY), is a healthcare business that provides pathology, diagnostic imaging, medical centres and low-cost fertility services, such as IVF. It operates across thousands of sites Australia wide.
What Healius Announced
Healius said it’s going through an organisational restructure to improve efficiency and growth for the company.
Healius Managing Director and CEO Dr Malcolm Parmenter said: “This re-design is a continuation of the previously announced productivity program and is integral to delivering on our stated strategy.”
Management are seeking the ‘leanest and most agile’ structures possible. As part of the changes for the company, Chief Financial Officer Malcolm Ashcroft will be leaving Healius after the FY19 result has been completed.
CEO of the Pathology business Wes Lawrence will also be leaving the company who has been with Healius for 25 years. Succession plans for these two roles are well advanced and an announcement is expected shortly.
Healius’ Profit Expectations
Whilst Healius hasn’t yet prepared its full year report, it was able to provide some preliminary numbers.
The unaudited numbers showed all divisions improving in the second half compared to the first half. The company is expecting to deliver a result at the lower end of its guidance range of underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of between $93 million to $98 million, which is in line with market expectations.
Is Healius The Best Healthcare Share?
There are a number of exciting healthcare shares that have a large technology element like Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) and Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT) which are priced highly.
But then there are other healthcare shares with lower margins and lower growth which are priced with lower price / earnings ratios like Healius and Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC).
Healius is defensive and probably better priced than others in the healthcare sector. But, I’d rather go for one of the reliable shares in the free report below instead.
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