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(Alliance News) - ECO Animal Health Group PLC on Thursday said trading in its shares recommenced on AIM in London following the release of two sets of results, with profit soaring in the first half of its financial year, almost hitting its full-year profit for the 2020 financial year.
ECO Animal Health shares were up 27% at 313.92 pence each in London on Thursday morning. They had been suspended from trading since the end of December until Thursday morning, due to the delay releasing the full-year results.
The pet and livestock pharmaceuticals company headquartered in Surrey said pretax profit for the half-year ended September 30, 2020, soared to GBP4.5 million from GBP1.1 million a year prior.
Revenue leapt 50% to GBP42.5 million from GBP28.3 million a year before, driven by a resurgence in China, the company said. Revenue in the China & Japan segment shot up to GBP20.8 million from GBP7.0 million a year prior.
The company did not declare an interim dividend due to "significant investment in new product development, operating cash flow, and cash balances". For 2019, an interim dividend was deferred, while for 2018, a dividend of 4.0 pence per share was paid.
The company said it is focusing on building a product pipeline targeting both viral and bacterial diseases of economic importance in pigs and poultry, with the intention of developing a range of vaccines and new products to complement its existing antimicrobial business.
On Brexit, Eco Animal Health said all contingency planning is in place and the financial and operational impact of Brexit is expected to be minimal.
Going forward, Eco Animal Health said: "Performance so far in the current financial year ending March 31, 2021 has been strong with the strength seen in both our Chinese and US markets continuing into the second half of our current financial year. In October 2020, we announced that notwithstanding the historical second half weighting to the group's revenue, if the first half revenue trends continued through the second half of the financial year the board expected that the group's full year revenue for the year ending March 31 would exceed market expectations."
Eco Animal Health additionally released its results for the year ended March 31, 2020. The firm said in December last year that there were logistical issues and other difficulties regarding the auditing process due to Covid-19 restrictions, particularly remotely auditing the company's international operations and the need to audit adjustments to the prior year's results.
Pretax profit halved to GBP5.2 million in financial 2020 from GBP10.1 million financial 2019, as administrative expenses jumped to GBP28.3 million from GBP21.8 million.
Revenue increased 6.7% to GBP72.1 million from GBP67.3 million.
Eco Animal Health did not declare a final dividend for the year, in order to maintain cash reserves, "particularly in the light of the economic uncertainty arising from the Covid-19 pandemic". This left the total payout for the year at nothing, having deferred the interim dividend.
By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com
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