At the time of its full-year results in March, woundcare specialist Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS) hinted that currency headwinds would weigh on its next half-year figures. Sure enough, the strength of sterling knocked nearly 4 percentage points off the top-line growth rate, which at constant currencies would have been about 11 per cent.
Forex concerns aside, AMS said its next-generation mesh implant product for treating hernias – LiquiBand Fix8 – should boost the sales momentum by the year-end. The product received European regulatory approval for a specific operation in May, but by extending the approved usage for the product chief executive Chris Meredith hopes to target the broader hernia market, worth £100m in Europe.
The original LiquiBand product is still selling well. In the UK, sales into A&E departments grew 12 per cent to £1.3m, while sales into operating theatres jumped 70 per cent to £300,000. German sales of the product also grew 3 per cent - or 6 per cent at constant currencies - to £700,000. AMS still wants the product approved in China, but following changes to the country's regulatory process the original end-2014 deadline has been pushed back to the first half of 2015.
Analysts at Investec expect pre-tax profits of £14.7m for 2014, giving EPS of 6.1p - up from £13.1m and 5.6p respectively.
| ADVANCED MEDICAL SOLUTIONS (AMS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 121p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 251m | |
| TOUCH: | 121-122p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 132p | LOW: 85p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 43p* | NET CASH: | £10m | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 27.4 | 6.0 | 2.53 | 0.19 |
| 2014 | 29.4 | 7.1 | 2.88 | 0.22 |
| % change | +7 | +18 | +14 | +16 |
Ex-div: 02 Oct Payment: 31 Oct *Includes intangibles of £39m or 19p per share | ||||
