· 2021 underlying pre-tax profit rises 5 per cent to £4.56mn on 9 per cent higher revenue of £32.8mn
· 2021 reported pre-tax profit of £0.95mn stated after £1.3mn exceptional costs and £2.3mn amortisation charge
· Closing net debt of £3.2mn (excluding £4.2mn lease obligations)
· Contribution from last summer’s acquisitions materially underpins 2022 earnings forecasts
Aim-traded Venture Life (VLG:33p), a developer, manufacturer and distributor of products for the self-care markets, is well placed to deliver a step change in profits this year as it reaps the full benefits of last summer’s complementary brand acquisitions: BBI Healthcare, a highly profitable market leading women's health and diabetes/energy management company; and oncology support product company, Helsinn.
Having been successfully integrated into the group, Venture’s own brands accounted for two-thirds of group revenue in the second half of last year. They are higher margin product sales, too, hence why analysts at Cenkos Securities believes gross margin will increase by almost three percentage points to 42.4 per cent this year.