(Adds details on honey sales, CEO comment)
WELLINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand natural health company Comvita Ltd (CVT) on Tuesday posted a boost in net profit as the company continued to position itself for a boom of honey in China, but regulatory hurdles were ahead.
Net profit after tax in the 15 months to June 30 was NZ$18.5 million, up from NZ$10.2 million in the 12 months to March 2015, the company said. The difference in reporting periods was due to the firm changing its annual reporting date.
Much of the rise in profits was due to a boost in honey sales, particularly in China via e-commerce.
Comvita sales rose just over 33 percent on Chinese e-commerce platforms, the company said. Comvita was the number one seller of honey on Tao Bao, a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce site, and number two on business-to-consumer site T-Mall.
Honey, and in particular manuka honey, which is produced in Australia and New Zealand, is a premium health product in China.
The company said, however, that new regulations had caused uncertainty, with Chinese regulators planning to ramp up auditing of New Zealand honey and wine production.
But it added that once implemented, the regulations would help support its luxury status.
"The proposed changes... will support the price premiums we expect from having world class quality standards," CEO Scott Coulter said.
The company said it was too early to forecast the next 12 months' profits but that it had a strong focus on earnings growth.
