This set of results was preceded by a warning from Purecircle (PURE) in May that its eight-month exclusion from the North American market would take a toll. From June last year until January this year the stevia company was under a Withhold Release Order issued by US Customs and Border protection. During this time the company underwent a thorough audit of its supply chain only to find that it complied with American rules. Management is hoping that business will return to normal next year, but the time away from the US – which in FY2016 represented a third of group revenue – squeezed the gross margin by more than a fifth and sent operating profit down 47 per cent.
Strip out the US effect and sales increased by 8 per cent over the year. New laboratories were opened in England, Shanghai and Delhi, while $42m (£31m) was spent on expanding a stevia refinery in Malaysia that should improve manufacturing efficiency. Chocolate and vanilla flavour replacements were launched, along with an antioxidant product that can be used in food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
Analysts at Liberum expect pre-tax profit of $12.2m in the year to June 2018, giving EPS of 6.5¢, up from $7.7m and 4.2¢ in FY2017.
| PURECIRCLE (PURE) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 451p | MARKET VALUE: | £785m | |
| TOUCH: | 450-452p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 489p | LOW: 190p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 146 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 88¢* | NET DEBT: | 41% | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2013 | 70 | -9.3 | -5.8 | nil |
| 2014 | 101 | 2.6 | 1.4 | nil |
| 2015 | 127 | 1.0 | 2.5 | nil |
| 2016 | 139 | 17.9 | 8.5 | nil |
| 2017 | 119 | 7.7 | 4.2 | nil |
| % change | -14 | -57 | -51 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of $54.7m, or 31¢ a share £1=$1.35 | ||||
