Increased profitability driven by sales of higher margin products in Nutrition and Genetics
Benchmark (LSE: BMK), the aquaculture health, genetics and advanced nutrition business is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2018 (the “period”).
Financial Highlights
+9%
Renvenue at H1 2017 forex rate
+16%
revenue increase in Advanced Nutrition
+91%
increase in Adjusted EBITDA
£75.7m
H1 2017: £69.2m
+11%
revenue increase in Genetics
£6.3m
H1 2017: £3.3m
Having joined the Board in May, I have been impressed with Benchmark’s range of products, its scale and global distribution network, and its reputation and relationships in the industry. Put this together with the drive and energy of the management team and it is clearly well placed to take advantage of the strong growth fundamentals in its market.
I look forward to helping to deliver shareholder value as we continue to develop the Group’s leading position in aquaculture.
Peter George
Benchmark Chairman
Financial Summary
| £m | H1 2018 | H1 2017 | % | FY 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 75.7 | 69.2 | +9% | 140.2 |
| EBITDA 1 | 6.3 | 5.2 | +21% | 15.7 |
| Adjusted EBITDA 2 | 6.3 | 3.3 | +91% | 10.0 |
| Adjusted PBT 3 | 4.4 | (0.7) | - | 6.3 |
| Loss before tax | (5.6) | (8.9) | - | (8.1) |
| Profit/(loss) for the period | 3.6 | (8.2) | - | (7.1) |
| Basic earnings/(loss) per share (p) | 0.67 | (1.58) | - | (1.43) |
| Net debt 4 | (41.3) | (12.8) | - | (23.9) |
(2) Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, exceptional items and acquisition related expenditure
(3) Adjusted PBT is profit/loss before tax, before amortisation, share option charge, exceptional items and acquisition related expenditure
(4) Net debt is cash and cash equivalents less loans and borrowings
The Group has delivered good organic revenue growth and improving profitability on an adjusted basis, while we continued to invest in our pipeline of new products and infrastructure.
The outlook for the Group is positive as the drivers for our business are stronger than ever before, with continued growth in aquaculture and increasing recognition from consumers, producers and regulators of the need for sustainable solutions to enable future growth.
We also expect to benefit from the recently announced, strategically important Chilean JV.
Overall, we remain on track to achieve our expectations for the current year, and are confident of Benchmark’s capacity to generate attractive returns in the years to come.
Malcolm Pye
Benchmark CEO