Animalcare Says Profits To Beat Hopes After Revenues Rise 15%

By Charlie Greenaway Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. veterinary medicine supplier Animalcare Group PLC (ANCR.LN) Tuesday said it expects profits to be higher than market expectations for its last fiscal year after revenues rose 15%. The company, which also manufactures and supplies livestock products such as identification ear tags and grooming products to agricultural retailers, said revenue in its Animalcare Ltd veterinary supplies business was approximately 20% ahead of the same period last year, helped by new launches such as the flavoured version of the generic heart drug Benazecare. The board expects a number of new products to be launched in the coming financial year. Revenues at its combined agricultural businesses -- Ritchey, Fearing International and Travik -- were about 9% ahead of the previous year, mainly due to the high sales of electronic sheep tags by Ritchey. Its fiscal year ended June 30. It cautioned that trading at the agricultural division remains challenging. It said its review of the strategic direction of the unit has gone well and it expects to announce the outcome when it releases its preliminary results, due October 4. -By Charlie Greenaway, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9284; steve.mcgrath@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 13, 2010 03:59 ET (07:59 GMT)