Anpario PLC on Wednesday said half-year revenue had surged more than 50% higher than last year, as sales accelerated particularly in the Middle East and Africa.
The Nottinghamshire, England-based animal feed additive manufacturer said pretax profit for the period ended June 30 jumped 53% to £2.1 million on-year from £1.4 million. Revenue increased by 11% to £17.0 million from £15.3 million.
Shares in Anpario were up 14% at 311.10 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. It has a market capitalisation of £63.2 million.
Sales increased to £17.0 million, up 11% on-year from £15.3 million. Asia delivered sales growth of 15%, whilst the Middle East and Africa delivered sales growth of 94%, Anpario said. However, sales in the US fell by 46%, due to ‘ongoing difficulties in the swine market and decisions by some customers to reduce or stop using some of our products’.
Anpario raised its interim dividend to 3.25 pence per share, up 1.6% on-year from 3.20p.
Anpario predicts further improvement in profitability for the rest of 2024, driven by an acceleration in sales and a recovery in volume in its more price sensitive products as the global agriculture environment improves. However, it warned that shipping and logistics may be disrupted by the ongoing Red Sea issues and a potential US dockworker strike in October.
Chair Matthew Robinson said: ‘The board is delighted to report a strong first half performance in terms of improved sales, margins and profitability. This reflects both management’s initiatives, commenced last year, in sales promotion, cost reduction and margin improvement as well as the broader industry-wide recovery.’
However he warned: ‘Meat protein producers are still under pressure, especially in the United States and China swine markets, as high feed and overhead costs and weak consumption impact producer margins. We expect these headwinds to alleviate in the coming months with a corresponding increase in the demand for our specialty feed additives.’
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