A successful year of revenue growth, improving margins, and strategic and innovative progress
Benchmark (AIM: BMK), the aquaculture health, nutrition and genetics business, announces its full year results for the year ended 30 September 2018 (the “period”).
Financial Highlights
+8%
Revenue
£151.5m
Revenue
+68%
increase in Adjusted EBITDA
£17.0m
Adjusted EBITDA (2017: £10.1m)
11%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (25% nutrition, 25% genetics)
49%
Gross margin
I am confident that we are well positioned to be aquaculture’s leading provider of solutions in genetics, health and specialist nutrition. Our medium-term target is to generate double digit compound annual growth in revenues and underlying profits and to deliver a 25% Group Adjusted EBITDA margin.
Peter George
Benchmark Chairman
Financial Summary
| £m | 2018 | 2017 | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted | |||
| Revenue | 151.5 | 140.2 | 8% |
| Adjusted EBITDA 1 | 17.0 | 10.1 | 68% |
| Adjusted Operating Profit2 | 10.2 | 5.2 | 96% |
| Adjusted Profit Before Tax 3 | 5.6 | 4.7 | 19% |
| Statutory | |||
| Revenue | 151.5 | 140.2 | 8% |
| Loss before tax | (13.7) | (8.1) | (69%) |
| Loss for the period | (4.4) | (7.1) | 38% |
| Basic loss per share (pence) | (0.94) | (1.43) | 34% |
| Net Debt 4 | (55.7) | (23.9) | - |
2 Adjusted Operating Profit is operating loss before exceptional items including acquisition related items and amortisation of intangible assets excluding development costs
3 Adjusted profit before tax is earnings before tax, amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and acquisition related expenditure
4 Net debt is cash and cash equivalents less loans and borrowings
2018 was a successful year for Benchmark. The Group achieved good growth in revenues and underlying earnings, and made substantial progress in implementing its strategy. Particular highlights in the year included the successful commercial scale trials for our next generation sea lice treatment, the opening of our state of the art salmon egg facility in Norway, and the successful trials for our disease resistant shrimp in three Asian markets.
Malcolm Pye
Benchmark CEO