Currency movements helped Abcam (ABC) to achieve significant top-line growth for the full year, although revenue still grew by a tenth at constant exchange rates. A slightly lower cash profit margin reflected continued internal investment at the supplier of 'affinity binders', 'biomarkers' and other tools to the life sciences sector.
Regionally, China led the way with reported sales rising 28 per cent on the same basis, within a market that management estimates is growing by 12-15 per cent a year. Meanwhile, Japan’s 12 per cent uplift has been attributed to Abcam increasing market share, rather than the market itself growing.
Product-wise, the group’s primary antibody revenue, centred on products such as its RabMAb rabbit monoclonal antibodies, is leading the way. Constant-currency sales for the product were up by more than a quarter.
Administration and management costs rose by 28 per cent to £78.4m, partly caused by charges relating to forward currency contracts. That said, management expects the potential for margin expansion as hedges roll off, if currencies stay where they are. Cash generation continued to be strong: free cash improved from £31.7m to £41.4m.
Analysts at Numis expect adjusted pre-tax profit of £83.1m and EPS of 31.8p in the year to June 2018 (from £64.6m and 25.5p in FY2017).
| ABCAM (ABC) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,071p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.19bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,071-1,077p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,090p | LOW: 725p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1% | PE RATIO: | 51 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 150p* | NET CASH: | £84.8m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 122 | 42.9 | 16.5 | 7.0 |
| 2014 | 128 | 43.6 | 17.1 | 7.8 |
| 2015 | 144 | 46.1 | 18.7 | 8.2 |
| 2016 | 172 | 45.4 | 18.6 | 8.9 |
| 2017 | 217 | 51.9 | 20.9 | 10.2 |
| % change | +26 | +14 | +12 | +14 |
| Ex-div: | tbc | |||
| Payment: | tbc | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £189m, or 92p a share | ||||
