Abcam (AIM: ABC), a global leader in the supply of life science research tools, today announces its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2018.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Reported | Adjusted2 | ||||||||
2017/18 £m | 2016/17 £m | Growth | CER1 growth | 2017/18 £m | 2016/17 £m | Growth | |||
Revenue | 233.2 | 217.1 | 7.4% | 10.7% | 233.2 | 217.1 | 7.4% | ||
Gross profit margin, % | 69.9% | 70.1% | 69.9% | 70.1% | |||||
EBITDA2 | 81.7 | 70.5 | 15.9% | 88.3 | 73.3 | 20.5% | |||
Profit Before Tax (PBT) | 69.1 | 51.9 | 33.1% | 81.6 | 64.6 | 26.3% | |||
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) (pence) | 30.2p | 20.7p | 45.9% | 32.4p | 25.5p | 27.1% | |||
Annual dividend per share (pence) | 12.00p | 10.18p | 17.9% | 12.00p | 10.18p | 17.9% | |||
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Total revenue increased by 7.4% on a reported basis and 10.7% on a constant exchange rate (CER) basis1
– Catalogue revenue grew 7.1% on a reported basis to £216.8m (2016/17: £202.4m) and 10.2% CER
– Custom Product and Licensing (CP&L) revenue grew 11.6% on a reported basis to £16.4m (2016/17: £14.7m) and 17.6% CER - EBITDA margin was 35.0% (2016/17: 32.5%) whilst Adjusted EBITDA margin2 increased to 37.9% (2016/17: 33.8%), primarily due to the rolling-off of hedging contracts in the prior year
- Reported PBT grew 33.1% to £69.1m and adjusted PBT grew 26.3% to £81.6m
- Reported diluted EPS grew 45.9% to 30.2p and adjusted diluted EPS grew 27.1% to 32.4p
- Strong cash generation continued, with net cash inflow from operating activities of £63.3m (2017/18: £66.4m)
- Proposed final dividend of 8.58p (2016/17: 7.36p), taking the proposed total annual dividend to 12.00 pence per share, an increase of 17.9%
OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC HIGHLIGHTS
- Strong commercial and strategic execution in the year, with all strategic key performance targets achieved:
– Recombinant antibody revenue growth of +22.3% CER (target 20-25%)
– Immunoassay product revenue growth of +25.4% CER (target 20-25%)
– 12-month rolling transactional Net Promotor Score (tNPS) up 2 percentage points to 64% (target 55-65%) - Continued to drive quality standards through knockout validation, recombinant antibodies, and other quality initiatives, with a further 400+ products knockout validated in the year
- Acquired the exclusive rights from Roche for a portfolio of Spring Bioscience products for research use only (RUO) applications
- Further increased our addressable market in CP&L (Abcam Inside), with 28 new framework agreements signed with pharmaceutical and diagnostic partners
- Continued to expand our FirePlex® platform, with the addition of over 150 new validated antibody pairs
SUMMARY OUTLOOK AND GUIDANCE
- Long-term market outlook remains positive; good momentum across the business
- Expect total constant currency revenue growth for 2018/19 of ~11%; ambition to maintain revenue growth at low double-digit rates over the medium-term
- Anticipate 2018/19 adjusted EBITDA2 margin of ~36% as a result of increased investment in strategic initiatives
Commenting on the performance, Alan Hirzel, Abcam’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“It has been a good year for Abcam, delivering double-digit revenue growth on a constant currency basis and meeting all of our strategic targets. Our customer focused strategy is delivering results, whilst our strong cash generation and balance sheet strength underpin the continued investments we are making into our teams, systems and facilities to sustain our double-digit growth rates and help life scientists around the world to discover more, faster.”
abcam