UPDATE 1-NZ's F&P Healthcare sees 38% lift in H1 profit

(Updates with comments, details)

WELLINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand medical equipment manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd (FPH.NZ: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Friday it expected a 38 percent rise in first-half operating profit on continued sales growth, sending its shares higher.

The company said it expected an operating profit of about NZ$43 million ($30.9 million) for the six months to Sept. 30, helped by strong demand and a lower New Zealand dollar <NZD=>.

At current exchange rates, second-half operating profit would be roughly double the first half, said managing director Mike Daniell at the company's annual meeting.

"Trading so far for the first half of the 2009 financial year has been very positive, assisted by back orders we held at the beginning of the new financial year as well as particularly strong demand for our respiratory and acute care products," Daniell said in speech notes.

Shares in F&P Healthcare, a top-10 company, climbed 3.4 percent to NZ$3.02. The stock has fallen 13 percent so far this year, compared with an 18 percent drop in the benchmark top 50 index .NZ50.

Growth in first-half revenue should be about 20 percent to approximately NZ$210 million, Daniell said.

F&P Healthcare, which makes products to treat respiratory conditions, gets about 60 percent of its sales in U.S. dollars.

Demand for the company's products was growing at a rate which would see it double in size over the next five years, Daniell said.

In July, he told Reuters in an interview that he expected sales to grow at 15 percent a year, and that the company would build a new factory to keep up with demand.

The company, created from the split of manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Industries in 2001, competes with Respironics Inc, recently bought by Philips Electronics (PHG.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and ResMed Inc (RMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (RMD.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

In the year to March 2008, it grew revenue by 18.5 percent in U.S. dollar terms to $271.5 million, but the rise was only 3.1 percent when translated into NZ dollars at NZ$357.9 million.

Operating profit fell 27 percent to NZ$58.1 million ($43.7 million) from 2007, mainly because of a strong kiwi dollar during the period. ($1=NZ$1.39) (Reporting by Adrian Bathgate; Editing by James Thornhill)