Animalcare Group plc (AIM: ANCR), the European Animal Health business, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Financial Highlights
- Reported revenue growth of 16.3% to £72.5m (2017: £62.3m)
– Up 2.7% on a proforma basis - Underlying* EBITDA increased by 21.7% to £11.8m (2017: £9.7m)
– Up 2.8% on a proforma basis - Statutory loss before tax, which incorporates non-underlying items, decreased to £0.4m (2017: £0.4m profit) with reported basic loss per share decreased to 1.7p (2017: 0.2p earnings per share)
- Improved underlying* cash conversion to 79.9% (2017: 65.9%) with net debt reduced by £2.3m to £23.6m
- Proposed final dividend of 2.4 pence per share giving a total dividend of 4.4 pence per share for 2018
Operational Highlights (including post-period)
- Jenny Winter, formerly of AstraZeneca, appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2018
- Leadership team strengthened by appointment of Group Functional leaders in Supply Chain, Commercial, New Product Opportunities (CSO) and Technical / Regulatory functions and HR. In addition, we have appointed new country managers in Spain, the UK and Belgium
- Portfolio prioritisation performed including the sale of the non-core Wholesale business in Q3 2018, in line with focus on the higher-margin veterinary pharmaceuticals business
- Ten new products launched in 2018 with an additional six submissions made for products that are scheduled for launch in 2019 or early 2020
- Strategy was focussed to reflect the new combined Animalcare group and was approved by the Board post period. It builds on the experience and success of the legacy companies and reflects the rapidly growing and changing marketplace. The Board believe the five strategic priorities below will drive the future success of Animalcare and will contribute to both the short and long-term sustainable growth.
– Build strong financial basis through revenue growth, cash conversion, EPS growth and EBITDA margin growth
– Grow the business through a focussed portfolio of existing products and build a robust future pipeline in five key therapy areas in the companion animal and equine markets
– Build on existing customer relationships with vets and other stakeholders to deliver trusted products and services
– Business development focus with partners to in license and acquire innovative products
– Organisation for success, building leadership strength and attract, retain and develop talent for the future
*underlying measures are before the effect of non-underlying items which excludes fair value adjustments on acquired inventory, amortisation of acquired intangibles and acquisition and integration costs. A reconciliation to statutory measures is provided in the Chief Financial Officer’s Review.
Jan Boone, Chairman of Animalcare Group plc, commenting on the results said: “Animalcare made good progress in 2018 as we focus on creating a competitive platform for future growth in the global animal health sector. We continue to improve the underlying profitability of the Group, and the disposal of our Wholesale Division was in line with our strategy to focus on the higher-margin veterinary pharmaceuticals business, a key growth driver. In order to maximise our potential as a significant player in the European and international animal health sector, we appointed Jenny Winter as CEO in October 2018 to maximise the potential of the business. With Jenny’s leadership and expertise, I look forward to delivering our financial goals and strategic objectives over the coming years.”
Jenny Winter, CEO of Animalcare Group plc, said: “Since joining Animalcare in October last year, I have been impressed by the competitive strengths of the business and the size of the growth opportunity. I have conducted a detailed review of all areas of the business and set out a strategy to enable us to build upon our capabilities. Our goal is to deliver sustainable and profitable growth and to achieve this, we will focus on meeting the needs of vets in therapeutic areas where we have existing strengths and can further add value. Improving cash generation is a key focus for the business and we will continue to drive improvements in supply chain efficiency and closely monitor our cost base, whilst selectively investing in future innovation. Achieving this will build an effective and focused organisation that is fit for the future and deliver growth over the next three to five years. ”
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