(Alliance News) - Plant Health Care PLC on Monday said revenue was higher in 2020 thanks to strong growth in sales of its Harpin ab product, though Covid-19 did hurt some markets.
Shares in Plant Health were down 5.1% at 16.60 pence in London in afternoon trading.
Plant Health, which provides products to improve heath and yield for major agricultural crops, said its revenue rose 3.1% to USD6.6 million in 2020 from USD6.4 million the year before, with sales up 9% at constant currency.
The company noted that "robust in-market sales growth of Harpin ab" had caused a more than USD1 million reduction of distributor inventory while sales of Harpin ab to Wilbur Eilis, a large US distributor, were double that of 2019.
Harpin ab stimulates plants' natural defence systems, increasing yield and improving resistance to soil pests and diseases.
The company noted that Covid-19 has hurt sales in some markets during the second half of 2020.
Nonetheless, its margin was maintained at 56% and its cash and cash equivalents as at December 31 increased to USD4.1 million from USD2.4 million at the end of 2019. The company consumed USD2.7 million in 2020, down from USD4.8 million in 2019.
Plant Health's Commercial business generated positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation as well as positive cash for the first time in 2020 thanks to reduced working capital.
Chris Richards, the company's chief executive, noted the success of Plant Health's core new technology, PREtec. PREtec works by inducing natural defensive and metabolic responses in crop plants, helping to reduce harm from stresses during the growing season while also being safe to handle with negligible toxicity.
Richards said: "Progress with bringing the first products from the PREtec platform to market has been outstanding. The Company intends to invest in bringing the benefits of PHC279 to growers in Brazil, with initial sales in the second half of 2021. PREtec product launches will follow in the U.S. from 2022 onwards.
"It has been a long haul. But after more than eight years and over USD20m invested, the benefits of PREtec peptide products will soon be widely available to growers in Brazil, the US and elsewhere."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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Plant Health (PHC)