Genus buoyed by China demand

Central to the group’s strong performance was its porcine ‘PIC’ business, which reported a 17 per cent rise in revenues. The increase was fuelled by high demand for genetics in China, as customers here restocked their pig herds following the havoc wreaked by the deadly African Swine Fever outbreak last year. In turn, overall PIC adjusted operating profits landed at £124m – up by roughly a quarter, and 13 per cent ahead of broker Liberum’s estimate.

At the same time, Genus’s bovine ‘ABS’ business saw a 9 per cent rise in sales, underpinned by ‘Sexcel’ – its high-fertility sexed genetics product.

Genus was not untouched by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed, the crisis has spurred protein supply-chain disruption and significant price volatility in the beef and dairy markets.  In North America, some processing plants were closed in response to virus outbreaks – keeping adjusted operating profits for the region remained flat at constant currencies.

Total adjusted operating profits, including joint-ventures, rose by 12 per cent to £81.2m. Reported profits soared on the back of an uplift in the value of Genus’s biological assets under agricultural accounting rules.

Consensus forecasts are for adjusted EPS of 88p in FY2021 – rising to 99p in FY2022.