The strong result has allowed Ryman to reinvest $120 million in new facilities around the country without increasing its debt levels; including an $18 million project under construction in Dunedin, after its operating cashflows increased 31% to $149 million, for the year to March.
Ryman's chairman Dr David Kerr said: "We have delivered on our growth plans in the face of a weak economy, a weak property market and weak capital markets.
"This is no mean feat. It shows that we are meeting a very real need in the community, and it highlights the company's remarkable resilience to economic cycles," he said in a statement to markets yesterday.
Forsyth Barr broker Tony Conroy said Ryman's previous full-year result posted a debt-to-equity ratio around 25%, but that had dropped to 23% for the past financial year because of increased asset values and provisioning for debt reduction.
"Its business was not adversely impacted by the recession in New Zealand with consistently strong demand for its product through this period," Mr Conroy said.
Craigs investment partner Peter McIntyre said during the year there was strong demand for units, with unit sales climbing 5.7% to 631, while unit resales were up 18.7% to 362 units.
New sales were down 7.8% to 269 units, from 292 units last year.
"Ryman has proven there is money to be made in the aged-care sector, which is growing at a fast rate," Mr McIntyre said.
He said that further underlining the strong "all-round" result was Ryman's accumulation of $41.3 million in tax losses, which it had yet to utilise, coming from depreciation on developed properties.
Work on the Dunedin facility on Highgate began in January, with excavations complete and concrete being poured in its basement slabs and walls this week.
The project prompted a bitter four-year fight with residents through resource consent hearings and the Environment Court, before consent was finally approved last September.
The rest-home will have 30 rooms with en suite in a dementia-care facility on the ground floor, a rest-home on level one with 60 en suite rooms, and 32 assisted-living suites on level two.
It expected the first residents will move in during March 2011.
During the past four years Ryman has consistently built about 450 new rooms a year, has building work under way at seven villages and manages a portfolio of more than 4200 units/rooms nationally in 21 villages catering for 4500 retirees.
It has increased its landbank to the equivalent of 1900 units/rooms.
"[Ryman] is well placed to continue at its current build rate for the foreseeable future," Dr Kerr said.
Citing Statistics New Zealand estimates that the number of New Zealanders aged over 75 will more than double from 250,000 to 516,000 during the next 20 years, Dr Kerr said Ryman was well positioned to cater for the rapidly growing age group.
A final dividend of 3.4c per share takes the full-year dividend to 6.1c.
