10th Sep 2013 07:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Protein research tool supplier Abcam PLC Tuesday said it had overcome the pressure on research funding in its markets, reporting higher profits and revenues for its latest financial year, buoyed by acquisitions and new products.
The company, which produces tools and reagents for research scientists, reported a net profit of GBP32.7 million for the year ended June 30, up from GBP25.4 million a year earlier as revenues rose to GBP122.2 million, from GBP97.8 million.
It said it had proposed a final dividend of 5.10 pence for the year, up from 4.36p a yeear earlier
It said the integration of Epitomics International Inc is continuing well and, with the exception of revenue from the former Epitomics business in China, it has now moved catalogue sales to the Abcam platform.
"The pace of scientific discovery in protein interactions in health and disease is accelerating and the opportunities open to the company are more abundant than at any time previously," Chief Executive Jonathan Milner said in a statement. "We remain committed to our goal of becoming the world's leading supplier of life science research tools."
Abcam's statement comes as peer Oxford Instruments warned that it was being hit by government spending cuts, particularly in the US, which meant research and development budgets were under pressure.
Abcam said its own warnings that markets in the West would remain challenging came true, particularly in the US, which is its biggest market. However, it said it had managed to overcome the challenges as it added over 29,000 products to its catalogue and it expanded deeper into Europe and China.
"Looking ahead we expect market conditions to remain challenging but we remain confident that we have the capabilities and plans in place for continued success," the company said in its outlook statement. "Trading since the year end has been in line with the board's expectations."
Abcam shares were up 4.4% at 490.951 pence early Tuesday, while Oxford Instruments shares were the biggest decliner on the FTSE 250.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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