18th Mar 2015 09:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bioquell PLC Wednesday posted a swing to a pretax loss for 2014 in what it called "a challenging year" for its core Bio business, but said it has undertaken changes to put it in a strong position to deliver growth in 2015, following news last Thursday it will sell its specialist testing subsidiary TRaC for GBP44.5 million.
Bioquell is selling the division to Element Materials Technology Group Holdings Ltd and expects to return most of the proceeds to shareholders. It reiterated Wednesday that the sale of the business will enable it to focus on the Bio business.
The microbiological control technologies company proposed a total dividend of 3.3 pence, maintained from the previous year.
Bioquell posted a pretax loss of GBP1.4 million in 2014, compared to a pretax profit of GBP3.1 million in 2013, as a rise in revenue to GBP45.3 million from GBP44.6 million was offset by a GBP3.9 million impairment relating to product development and patent costs.
TRaC revenue was up 7% to GBP18.0 million from GBP16.8 million, offsetting a decline in the Bio business of 2% to GBP27.3 million from GBP27.9 million, largely caused by operational difficulties in its US and Asian operations and hampered by the strength of sterling. On a constant currency basis, revenue in the Bio division would have risen 1%, Bioquell said.
Within the Bio business, healthcare revenue rose 26%, boosted by increased interest in Bioquell's hydrogen peroxide vapour technology on the back of its activities during the Ebola outbreak, and its new single patient room product. Defence revenue also more than doubled, but these gains were offset by a 17% decline in its Life Sciences revenue.
Bioquell has reduced the cost base of the Bio division "substantially", it said, also making changes to the management of its American and Asian subsidiaries. It expects the results of these changes to show in its financial performance in 2015.
After the sale of TRaC is completed, Bioquell plans to rebase its dividend payout, it said.
"Given the changes we have made to the Bio division during last year and the attractive valuation we were able to secure for TRaC, we believe that we are well positioned to deliver further significant value to shareholders in 2015," the company said in a statement.
Shares in Bioquell are trading up 0.5% at 119.11 pence Wednesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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