Franchised fryer management services company Filta (FLTA:AIM) said record third and fourth quarter sales drove full year revenues up 44% to £23.6 million.
The strong sales recovery in 2021 was comfortably ahead of analysts’ forecasts, sending the shares up 10% to 144p.
A large proportion of Filta’s business is exposed to the hospitality and leisure sectors, which bore the brunt of the lockdowns and are now seeing strong recoveries.
Sales growth was led by the US market which recovered earlier and faster than the UK, with sales surging 82% year-on-year to a record £14.2 million.
Despite a slower start, the UK operations put in a strong second half with sales climbing 37% which resulted in full year growth of 10% to £8.9 million.
The company said it was ‘particularly encouraged’ by the amount of new business it had secured throughout the pandemic and which has continued as restrictions have lifted.
In late 2020 Filta introduced a new product to the market called the cyclone grease recovery unit which saw good traction in the first half of last year, recording 60% quarter-on-quarter growth.
The company has built on the early success and recently signed a 10-year supply agreement to be the global exclusive supplier of the unit. It was introduced into the European market in the second quarter which finished the year with 19 installations.
CONTINUED STRONG TRADING
The company said the start of the new financial year has continued to see positive trading with January sales up 62% ahead of last year.
Consequently, the board is confident the business can continue to build on the strong 2021 performance as the hospitality and leisure markets continue their return to unrestricted trading.
The company finished the period with net cash of £0.7 million compared with net debt of £1.6 million in December 2020.
