Crop enhancement specialist Plant Impact (PIM) saw revenue in the first 6 months of the financial year soar, falling only just short of the total for the July 2015 year-end. This can be largely attributed to another excellent performance by the group's flagship product Veritas - used for the improvement of soy bean yield - which is sold by commercial partner Bayer Crop Science in Brazil. Veritas is now being used on crops with a total area roughly equivalent to the size of Scotland. The group also saw its first revenues from Banzai - a product aimed at improving cocoa yields under stressful growing conditions - as the first shipments were sent to commercial partner Arysta LifeScience for sales in West Africa.
Global expansion is the game plan for the Aim-traded company, reflected by a 22 per cent increase in research and development (R&D) spending. Trials are currently underway to assess the efficiency of Veritas in more locations, including other South American countries, and early results look promising. The group is also working on developing a product for improving the quality of wheat crops which will help it to tap into European and North American markets.
Broker Peel Hunt is expecting an adjusted pre-tax loss of £0.4m and positive EPS of 0.2p for the full year, compared with a loss of £0.2m and the same earnings gain in FY2015.
PLANT IMPACT (PIM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 58p | MARKET VALUE: | £47m | |
| TOUCH: | 57-59p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 67p | LOW: 46p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 135 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 11p* | NET CASH: | £8.6m | |
| Half-year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£000) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2.50 | 77 | 0.32 | nil |
| 2016 | 4.22 | 185 | 0.55 | nil |
| % change | +69 | +140 | +72 | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Includes intangible assets if £2.09m, or 2.6p a share | ||||
