August was a bumper month for ASX 200 healthcare shares with broad based buying across the sector.
The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care (INDEXASX: XHJ) index rallied 6.8% last month to an 18-month high and less than 3% away from all-time highs.
The solid performance was headlined by these top performing players.
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Top performing ASX 200 healthcare shares in August
Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)
The Nanosonics share price rallied 23.5% in August to a 7-month high of $6.62.
Nanosonics delivered its FY21 results on Tuesday, 24 August when its share price surged 21.9% to $7.18.
The company delivered a relatively flat financial performance with revenues up 3% to $103.1 million while net profit after tax declined 15% to $8.6 million.
Encouragingly, management said the company experienced a "significant recovery" in the second half of FY21, with revenues bouncing 16.3% compared to 2H20 figures.
Management believes this momentum is likely to continue, expecting double-digit revenue growth figures in FY22.
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)
Pro Medicus is another ASX 200 healthcare share that surged after the release of its FY21 results.
The Pro Medicus share price rallied 15.6% to $65.35 on Wednesday, 18 August after the company reported a 19.5% increase in FY21 revenue to $67.9 million and a 33.7% lift in net profit after tax to $30.9 million.
Management hailed the year as "our biggest year in terms of both sales and implementations, laying the foundations for a further step-up in exam volumes in FY22".
Despite the strong rally on the day of its results announcement, its gains would fade to 8.78% for the month of August.
Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)
The Sonic Healthcare share price rallied 8.45% in August.
In contrast to the other top performing ASX 200 healthcare shares, the Sonic Healthcare share price fell almost 3% on the day of its FY21 results.
At face value, the company delivered an upbeat financial performance with revenue up 28% to $8.8 billion and net profit surging 149% to $1.3 billion.
However, the company flagged that its growth has been enhanced by COVID-19 testing revenue from its ~60 laboratories around the world.
Sonic Healthcare reported that COVID-19 PCR volumes were lower in the second half of the year versus the first half. However, volumes have been increasing again with the spread of the Delta variant.
