Animalcare's decision to dispose of the marginally profitable livestock operation (sold for £3.25m a year ago) and to concentrate on the companion animal division is paying dividends with the company reporting record sales, margins and profits in the year to June.
Sales growth has been encouraging, rising 5.6 per cent in the established range of medicines and an impressive 22.7 per cent in the more recently launched generic medicines. This came despite disruptions to one of the key brands, Buprecare, following the closure of supplier Recipharm's UK sterile production unit, which meant sales revenue from the drug fell by 2.1 per cent. However, establishing a new supplier should see Buprecare reintroduced in the final quarter of the current financial year.
Finances are also in good shape. Net cash flow improved from £1.94m to £2.15m which, combined with the proceeds from the livestock business, meant that last year's net debt of £2.9m has been turned into a cash balance of £1.2m.
Brewin Dolphin expects pre-tax profits in the current year of £3.1m and EPS of 11.3p (up from £3m and 11.2p).
| ANIMALCARE (ANCR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 168p | MARKET VALUE: | £34m | |
| TOUCH: | 160-175p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 176p | LOW: 89p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 77p* | NET CASH: | £1.2m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 8.3 | 0.30 | 4.4 | 2.25 |
| 2008 | 11.8 | 1.11 | 7.7 | 2.25 |
| 2009 | 17.6 | 1.53 | 5.3 | 2.50 |
| 2010 | 11.2 | 2.04 | 7.1 | 3.00 |
| 2011 | 11.8 | 2.89 | 11.0 | 4.00 |
| % change | +5 | +42 | +55 | +33 |
Ex-div: 12 Oct Payment: 07 Nov *Including intangible assets of £14.5m, or 71p a share | ||||
