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9 Jan 2019 07:00
SCIENCE IN SPORT PLC
("SIS", the "Company" or "Group")
Pre-Close Trading Update
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Science in Sport plc (AIM: SIS), a UK-headquartered market-leading endurance sports nutrition company that develops, manufactures and markets sports nutrition products for elite athletes and sports enthusiasts, is pleased to announce the following pre-close trading update for the 12 months ended 31 December 2018.
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Financial highlights:
· | Group sales of £21.3 million (2017: £15.6 million), including a 25-day contribution of £1.5 million from PhD Nutrition following acquisition completion on 6 December.  |
· | Underlying SiS sales growth of 27% to £19.8 million (2017: £15.6 million), with second half growth accelerating to 34% for SiS, following first half investment in growth initiatives.  |
· | Strong SiS online sales growth of 29% to £11.2 million underpinned by SiS.com, which grew sales at 40% to £6.4 million following significant investment in a new e-commerce platform launched in March.  |
· | The rapid pace of SiS international growth continued, increasing 55% to £6.8 million.  |
· | The final results for the year are expected to be in line with market expectations and will be announced on 20 March 2019.  |
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Operational highlights:
· | Ahead of sector norm revenue growth in the profitable core* business, underpinned by on plan delivery in strategic markets of USA, Italy and Australia. Launches in several new markets, including China.  |
· | Consistent investment in marketing resulted in significant brand awareness improvement versus the competitive set. Elite ambassador agreements with Olympic and World Champion swimmer Adam Peaty and cyclist Mark Cavendish were secured during the year. SIS became the Official Sports Nutrition Partner of Manchester United, the world's most popular football club. SIS also partners with Sir Chris Hoy, British Cycling, Cycling Australia, USA Cycling, USA Triathlon, Rock n Roll Marathon and Team Sky.  |
· | In December, SIS acquired the premium performance nutrition brand, PhD Nutrition, for £32 million. The transformational deal doubles the size of the Company, extends its product range, and enhances its international presence. PhD is a highly complementary acquisition that accelerates SIS' ambition to become a global leader in premium performance nutrition.  |
* 'core' is defined as UK, EU and ROW, excluding strategic markets USA, Italy & Australia.
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Stephen Moon, Chief Executive of SIS, said:
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"Our consistent strategy of investment in brand and innovation produced a strong performance in line with our expectations. We remain committed to an omni-channel strategy, however our focus on the growth drivers of the SiS.com business and developing international markets produced exceptional results.
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We were delighted to have secured the PhD Nutrition business and its excellent management team and integration is on track to maximise the combined potential. Over the coming years our ambition is to build the world's leading premium performance nutrition business.
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In the last five years the Science in Sport business has delivered CAGR of 25% and with our proven strategy and the PhD acquisition, the Board remains confident of continued strong growth in 2019 and beyond."
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9 January 2019
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For further information, please contact:
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Science in Sport PLC Stephen Moon, CEO Elizabeth Lake, CFO Â | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7400 3700 |
Liberum(Nominated Adviser & Broker) Clayton Bush Chris Clarke James Greenwood  | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000 |
Instinctif Partners (Financial PR) Matthew Smallwood Tom Berger | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020 |
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