1300SMILES FY'16 Results deliver record full year dividend of 22.5c

1300SMILES Ltd has today announced solid and strong results for the year to 30 June 2016, with NPAT up 15.8% to $7.6 million and a final dividend of 11.5c per share setting new records, both as the largest dividend ever paid and the largest full year dividend up 17.2% to 22.5cps in total.

Managing Director and Founder, Dr Daryl Holmes said "the Directors of 1300SMILES are committed to declare dividends which give shareholders the opportunity to participate fully as the owners of the business."

According to Dr Holmes, "We are very proud of the overall result for 2016 - it is consistent and pleasing, but with a notable difference from previous periods. The unusual aspect of this good result is that it was achieved in a period in which Revenue was flat, at $36.4 million."

"I expect Revenue growth to resume, following the current period of political and economic uncertainty, and as it does so I expect we'll see an increased portion of Revenue falling through to the bottom line. Within the 2016 financial year we saw notably positive improvements from the third to the fourth quarters, and I expect this trend to continue into the 2017 financial year."

Dr Holmes went on to say "Our services to patients, our management tools, and our administrative processes have all improved radically over the past decade, but we have maintained our solid focus on providing quality dental care to patients, and attractive working environment to dentists and staff, and good financial results for shareholders."

"2016 was a year in which much of our profit growth came from internal improvements -- an achievement of which all our staff should be proud. Our relentless focus on costs and efficiency came to the fore and we finished the year leaner and more efficient than ever."

During the year, a Performance Management Project was largely completed, creating the best possible and most cost-effective corporate management system, involving a major upgrade of corporate management software - digitising, streamlining, and automating many head office and management processes, greatly improving access to better management data, faster, and at lower cost than ever before.

When talking about the dental industry and future, Dr Holmes went on to outline "The dental market remains somewhat confused by the activity of private health insurers, private equity firms and other players with shallow roots in the dental industry. 1300SMILES plays a long game and we will wait until the acquisition opportunities are better. I speculate that the current market conditions will create significant opportunities for us in the foreseeable future."

The company also reported ongoing strong demand for its Dental Vouchers scheme ($49 - $99pw direct debit payment plans) which fits perfectly with the company's key objectives of availability, accessibility and affordability.