Childcare operator ABC Learning Centres said it will write down $213 million, not pay a final dividend and declare a full-year pre-tax loss.
The company will post a pre-tax loss of $437 million for the 12 months to July 31 and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the same period will also be a loss of $86 million, Brisbane-based ABC said in a statement.
Shares in ABC fell 12.1%, or 10 cents, to close at 72.5 cents.
ABC, which paid an interim dividend of eight cents per share, said the payment of future dividends would depend on profitability, capital commitments and available cash and franking credits at the time.
The company has revised its capital expenditure program and will now spend $165 million to buy 110 new centres in 2009 with an additional $45 million on refurbishments. ABC will buy 70 centres for $80 million in 2010 and spend $17 million on refurbishments.
ABC said the first three weeks of fiscal 2009 had been encouraging and centres in Australia and New Zealand had met their revenue and wages targets. The company had increased fees after a review.
The company said it remained compliant with all banking covenants.
ABC is continuing to review asset values and calculate the precise book loss in relation to the deconsolidation of the US operations.
The company is also expecting to restate 2007 earnings by cutting $19 million and earnings in years before that by $34 million.
The losses relate to the unwinding of the Regional Management Companies structure, which has to be allocated to previous years due to the age of debtors been written off. There are also charges related to depreciation of equipment and labour costs.
ABC said $20 million of the 2008 losses would come from underlying operating performance as waiting lists failed to improve as much as expected and salary and rent were higher than planned.
AAP
