Life Healthcare Group says earnings in the six months ended March fell partly because of losses on foreign exchange option contracts linked to the sale of its stake in India’s Max Healthcare. Even though revenues grew by up to 10.4%, thanks to the international business, headline earnings per share (HEPS) fell by up to 55.1% in the interim period, Life Healthcare said on Wednesday. Its shares fell 5.4% to R26.25. After agreeing to sell its stake in Max Healthcare — it expects proceeds of R3.9bn — the group entered into foreign exchange option contracts to mitigate the risk of currency fluctuations before the deal was closed. The marked-to-market loss on the option contracts in place during the interim period was R256m net of tax, the company said. The group, which is headed up by Shrey Viranna, said earnings were also dented by investments in the business, higher transaction costs, the writing-off of unused software in SA, and increased contingent payments for past deals. Meanwhile,...
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