Expansion goals spur F&P Healthcare plan to buy land

AUCKLAND: Fisher & Paykel Healthcare says it plans to spend $275 million buying a 105ha Karaka property for a new second campus to complement its existing East Tamaki facility.

The respiratory product manufacturer said its current site was nearing capacity and it needed more land to continue its growth.

Chairman Scott St John said the company had consistently signalled the importance of longterm infrastructure planning to help it deliver on its growth strategy.

The company had aspirations of doubling its constant currency revenue every five to six years.

‘‘In order to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us, we need more space,’’ Mr St John said.

Development of the new campus would occur over a 20 to 30year period, with a focus on earthworks and core infrastructure over the next five years.

The new campus would house a large number of employees in research and development, pilot manufacturing and related roles, managing director and chief executive Lewis Gradon said.

The site is 25km south of the company’s existing campus and about 40km south of Auckland’s central business district.

It sits next to a major rail line and is a short distance from State Highway 1 and the site of the proposed passenger railway station at Drury West.

Mr Gradon said the company’s standard approach in New Zealand was to buy land rather than lease it, given the purposebuilt nature of its facilities and the longterm certainty that offered.

The purchase of the Karaka land is subject to approval by the Overseas Investment Office and will be funded through a combination of operating cash flow and debt.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare designs, makes and markets products and systems for use in acute and chronic respiratory care, surgery and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

The company’s share price came under downward pressure last month when it said its profit for the first half to September would fall sharply from the same period a year earlier, when demand was high due to the Covid19 pandemic.

It said it expected operating revenue for the first half to be about $670 million, down from $900 million in the previous comparable period. It expected its net profit to be $85 million$95 million, down from $222 million. —