A busy six months for Benchmark (BMK) has seen revenue overtake that gained in the whole of the previous year. Three months of trading from recently acquired INVE contributed £20.6m, providing the bulk of the revenue growth. But even stripping out the sales from acquisitions made in the past 18 months, turnover rose 42 per cent.
Benchmark now has five divisions operating across the spectrum of the sustainable fish farming food chain, completing the structure that management set out at IPO in 2013. Sales of its lice treatment for farmed salmon jumped, helping to push the animal health division to £2m of cash profits, compared with a £0.5m loss in the prior comparable period. However, environmental and trading challenges in Chile saw a £1.3m reduction in cash profits in the breeding and genetics division.
The overall pre-tax loss included a fivefold increase, to £18.3m, in operating costs from investing activities. Spending has also seen Benchmark move into a net debt position, but management says this will come down quickly.
A pipeline of 85 products means organic growth is expected to accelerate in the coming months and an £8.3m investment in a new vaccine manufacturing centre and marine research facilities bodes well.
Prior to these results analysts at Cenkos were expecting adjusted pre-tax profits of £19m for the year to September 2016, giving EPS of 3.7p (from £1.5m and 0.3p for FY2015).
BENCHMARK HOLDINGS (BMK) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 63p | MARKET VALUE: | £299m | |
| TOUCH: | 61-65p | 12-MONTH HIGH / LOW: | 99p | 50p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 64.8p* | NET DEBT: | 4.7% | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 19.8 | -3.8 | -2.5 | nil |
| 2016 | 48.0 | -12.6 | -3.1 | nil |
| % change | +143 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Includes intangible assets of £324m, or 68p a share | ||||
