1300SMILES Ltd 2013 Half Year Results

Improving smiles pays dividends

1300SMILES Ltd has announced record results for the first half of the 2013 financial year.

1300SMILES Managing Director Dr. Daryl Holmes said the company enjoyed its best ever half yearly results, with impressive increases in Revenue, Net Profit After Tax, Earnings Per Share, and Dividends Per Share.

Net Profit After Tax was up by 16.1% to $4.0 million whilst the fully-franked Interim Dividend increased by 16% to 10 cents per share. Earnings Per Share grew by 16.1% to 16.7 cents. Statutory Revenue grew by 20.9% to $21.1 million.

Dr. Holmes highlighted growth in over-the-counter Revenue by 34% to more than $29 million. Dr. Holmes said that was almost two-thirds of last year's total annual revenue, and not far short of its total annual revenue in the 2010 year.

He said solid growth in the business could be attributed in part to the innovation 1300SMILES continued to deliver in dental care.

"We have worked hard to provide more affordable means for people to access dental care, and this is vital when we consider the effects of poor dental health on the community," Dr. Holmes said. "It's a national embarrassment that 70 percent of all Australians do not regularly go to a dentist.

"Poor periodontal (gum) health is associated with other serious systemic illnesses, up to and including serious heart disease in which the heart itself is infected with some of the same pathogens present in infected gums. The cost of two checkups each year for life is far less than the cost of treating one incident of heart disease.

"I'm proud to report that we're doing our best to make regular preventative dental care accessible to as many people as possible. Our key initiative in this area is the 1300SMILES Dental Care Plan. Many patients, new and old, have already had their first check-ups under the Plan, and have been able to proceed with more extensive treatment thanks to the reduced cost and extended interest-free payment terms.

"We are determined to expand the market for dental services via the 1300SMILES Dental Care Plan and deliver services to a much broader group of people than ever before, including the 70 percent who might have avoided treatment because of the perceived cost," Dr. Holmes said.

1300SMILES Ltd is Queensland's largest provider of dental services. It owns and operates twenty-four multi-dentist facilities in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast, locations in greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast (at Tweed Heads), and Toowoomba.