Rest homes return $22.8m in wage subsidies
The country’s largest retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare says it will repay $14.2 million of Covid-19 wage subsidies it received from the Government.
The announcement came hours after competitor Summerset said it was also paying back $8.6m it received under the wage subsidy scheme.
Both New Zealand stock exchange (NZX)-listed companies have been criticised for holding on to the wage subsidy when they did not need it.
Ryman Healthcare chairman David Kerr said an improved outlook meant it was now committed to repaying the subsidy. It had spent more than $50m on its Covid-19 response, he said.
Ryman Healthcare paid $44m in first-half dividends to its shareholders after claiming the subsidy.
Summerset made its announcement in a guidance update to the NZX yesterday morning which said profit for the year to December 31 was forecast to be between $96m and $98m. The subsidy repayment was factored into the underlying profit guidance.
Since late March, nearly 800,000 businesses have claimed $14 billion worth of Covid-19 wage subsidies. About $500m has been paid back in over 16,600 refunds.
To access the first round of the wage subsidy, employers had to have had a 30 per cent revenue drop over a month between January and June 9, compared with the same month in 2019 and that decline had to be related to Covid19.
Summerset said it qualified for the wage subsidy because its revenue fell by more than 30 per cent in April when retirement unit sales fell to zero.
Summerset reported a $1m after-tax profit for the six months to June 30, largely due to its village units being marked down by $14.7m in value. It still paid an interim dividend of 6 cents a share, while holding on to about $838m in accumulated profits from prior years.
Stuff received subsidies. $6.2m in wage