By David Winning

SYDNEY--Sonic Healthcare Ltd. reported a more than doubling in half-year net profit, as the windfall from providing coronavirus tests more than offset a decline in other revenues.

Sonic reported a net profit of 677.6 million Australian dollars (US$525.3 million) for the six months through December, compared to A$254.4 million a year earlier. Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of 36 cents a share, up 6% on a payout of 34 cents a year earlier.

Sonic said it has completed more than 18 million tests for Covid-19 since the pandemic began at 60 laboratories globally, and this had given revenue and earnings a significant boost in its fiscal first half.

In contrast, Sonic said revenue from its other businesses fell by 1% compared with a year earlier after stripping out the impact of currency swings. It said that it was feeling much less disruption to its activities outside of providing Covid tests than in the early months of the pandemic.

Sonic said it expects a strong second-half result based on the revenue growth in January and February so far, but shied away from providing annual earnings guidance due to the uncertainty created by the pandemic.

"The pandemic has the potential to cause fluctuations in both the base business and Covid-19 testing revenues, although the base business is becoming increasingly resilient to the impacts of pandemic waves," Sonic said.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-17-21 1609ET