Fish farming specialist Benchmark (BMK) is ticking the boxes which will one day lead to its first net profits. Greater use of in-house distribution networks helped widen margins in the first half of the 2018 financial year which, combined with the 17 per cent increase in like-for-like revenues, narrowed pre-tax losses. Strip out depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items and adjusted cash profits nearly doubled to £6.3m.
The group’s major product and infrastructure investment is finally beginning to reap rewards in all three of its divisions. Animal nutrition, where the group’s specialist feed (which allows farmers to cut the costs and challenges of using live food for their fish) is in increasingly high demand, reported a 16 per cent increase in revenues as Benchmark extended its market-leading position.
Genetics also enjoyed double-digit growth as the superior quality of the group’s salmon eggs sent both price and volume up. Meanwhile, animal health – which reported a decline in these numbers owing to the disruptive impact of bringing distribution in-house – has several exciting pipeline products in the final stages of development. New launches are expected to send sales up to £158m by the end of the financial year, up from £140m in 2017.
