Sonic Healthcare FY26 Underlying EBITDA A$1.93b, Up 11%

Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) reported FY2026 revenue of A$10,867 million, up 13 per cent on FY2025 and including A$15 million of interest income, and underlying EBITDA of A$1,933 million, up 11 per cent. Sonic said the underlying EBITDA figure equates to A$1,916 million on a constant currency basis, in line with its FY2026 guidance range of A$1,870 million to A$1,950 million. Statutory EBITDA was A$1,882 million, up nine per cent. Underlying net profit was A$621 million, up 17 per cent, and statutory net profit A$608 million, up 18 per cent, with underlying earnings per share of 125.6 Australian cents, up 14 per cent, and statutory earnings per share of 123.0 Australian cents, up 15 per cent. Group organic revenue growth was five per cent. Net non-recurring items reduced EBITDA by A$51.2 million and net profit by A$12.7 million, and comprised a A$106.7 million EBITDA gain on the sale and leaseback of the Brisbane hub laboratory, a A$82.8 million software intangibles impairment, a A$33.0 million US debtors adjustment relating to revenue recognised in FY2024 and FY2025, a A$14.0 million Australian wage remediation charge relating to years prior to FY2026, restructuring costs, acquisition costs, back office digital transformation investment and a tax deduction denial related to pre-FY2020 claims.

The sale and leaseback of the Bowen Hills hub laboratory in Brisbane completed in June 2026 at a purchase price of A$445 million, which Sonic said released capital invested at a pre-tax return of about 5.6 per cent. Net interest-bearing debt was A$3,069 million at 30 June 2026 against A$2,818 million a year earlier, an increase Sonic said relates largely to the acquisitions of LADR and Cairo Diagnostics, partially offset by the sale and leaseback proceeds; debt cover was 2.2 times, the gearing ratio 25.9 per cent and available headroom in cash and undrawn facilities about A$1.6 billion. The final dividend is A$0.63 per share, unchanged on FY2025 and franked to 60 per cent, taking total FY2026 dividends to A$1.08 against A$1.07, an increase of 0.9 per cent. For FY2027 Sonic guided to EBITDA of A$1,950 million to A$2,030 million on a constant currency basis, excluding back-office IT systems transformation costs of about A$30 million, and said Swiss regulatory changes and an extended integration timeline for the UK HWE contract will impact FY2027 EBITDA growth. The guidance excludes any gains from property sales, includes completed acquisitions only, assumes no future regulatory changes including PAMA, and assumes current interest rates prevail.