Animalcare Group Plc is to declare an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per share, in line with the prior period. The interim dividend will be paid on 17 November 2023 to shareholders whose names are on the Register of Members at close of business on 20 October 2023. The ordinary shares will become ex-dividend on 19 October 2023.
Other financial highlights include:
Revenues £36.7m (H1 2022: £38.3m), a 4.1% decrease at AER (6.8% down at CER); strong contributions from new products such as Plaqtiv+ offset by a return to pre-pandemic levels of demand growth and sales phasing due in part to distributor de-stocking since the FY22 year end
Underlying* EBITDA margin at 19.5%, reflecting a 1.5% gross margin expansion to 57.5% combined with disciplined SG&A investment, partially mitigating the decrease in revenue. Underlying EBITDA of £7.2m (H1 2022: £8.0m)
Underlying basic EPS decreased by 17.7% to 6.5 pence (H1 2022: 7.9 pence) predominantly driven by movement in underlying EBITDA
Improved cash conversion to 52.5% drove a reduction in net debt to £3.8m (FY22: £5.4m), materially below the Group's target leverage ratio, maintaining the strong financial platform to invest in growth opportunities
Statutory profit before tax incorporating non-underlying items was £2.4m (H1 2022: £3.4m), with reported basic EPS at 2.7 pence (H1 2022: 4.0 pence)
