Wellington, Nov 19 NZPA - Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd made $30 million from closing out some of its foreign exchange contracts, the first time it has done so.

The money was used to pay down debt and under accounting rules it did not go through the income statement because the exposure originally hedged still exists in the future.

"It is the first time the currency has run back up so quickly that we have had this cover available that we could do this. It is a rare event," said chief financial officer Tony Barclay.

The company is an exporter and its income is reduced by a high New Zealand dollar.

When the NZ dollar fell to around US55c the company put currency hedges, effectively insurance against a rising dollar, in place. When The NZ dollar rose above US70c the company decided to close some of the contracts and take the cash now.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare today reported a 31 percent rise in half-year net profit to $37 million.

It forecast an annual net profit after tax of between $65m and $70m based on a NZ dollar forecast of US74c.

In May, the forecast profit range was $75m to $80m with a NZ dollar expected to be US60c for the balance of the year. In August, it reiterated that range based on a currency of US67c for the rest of the year.

The record interim profit was a result of strong revenue growth in the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) product group, continuing strong demand for respiratory products and favourable foreign exchange hedging results.

Operating revenue for the six months to the end of September increased 18 percent, compared to a year earlier, to $251.4m.

An interim dividend of 5.4c per share is to be paid.

For the rest of the 2010 financial year the company expected continuing growth in demand for its products, Healthcare said.

Chief executive Michael Daniell said underlying growth was expected to increase substantially in the second half, with accelerating growth in respiratory product demand.

In the next few months, the company planned to begin introduction of its new flow generator into the OSA market.

Recurring revenue, from sales of consumables and accessories, was about 75 percent of total operating revenue, Healthcare said.

OSA product group operating revenue rose 31 percent to $118.8m, reflecting strong demand for the company's new premium flow generators and masks.

Respiratory and acute care product group operating revenue rose 8 percent to $117.4m.

Constant currency operating revenue growth for OSA masks and flow generators was 20 percent, as Healthcare gained market share with new premium products, Mr Daniell said.

Allowing for the exceptional first-half last year, it was estimated that underlying constant currency revenue growth for the respiratory and acute care product group was about 14 percent.

"We continued to make very encouraging progress in developing new clinical applications for our technologies beyond our traditional invasive ventilation and OSA markets," Mr Daniell said.

"An increasing proportion of our respiratory and acute care revenue is derived from devices used to assist in the treatment of patients requiring non-invasive ventilation, oxygen therapy, humidity therapy and laparoscopic surgery."

Research and development expenses were up 23 percent to $16.3m, representing 6.5 percent of operating revenue. New product projects included flow generators, masks and additional respiratory care consumables.