21st Mar 2014 07:55
LONDON (Alliance News) - CVS Group PLC Friday reported an increase in profit and revenue for the recent half year, reflecting a strong performance across the business.
The veterinary services provider posted pretax profit of GBP3.2 million for the six months to end December 2013, from GBP3.0 million a year before, as revenue rose 18.0% to GBP68.5 million from GBP58.3 million.
The company operates through a number of divisions, including practice, laboratory and Animed Direct.
At the half year, the practice division operated 255 veterinary surgeries, up from 240 a year earlier, which helped push revenue up 17% for the division to GBP61.3 million from GBP52.6 million. Like-for-like sales growth of 2.0% combined with an additional day of trading in the period generated GBP1.6 million of additional revenue for the practice division.
CVS said the annualisation impact on revenue of prior-year practice acquisitions, which were mostly in the second half of the previous financial year, added GBP5.3 million and current year acquisitions added a further GBP1.8 million to its practice division.
The company's laboratory division, which provides diagnostic services to third-party-owned veterinary surgeries as well as its CVS's own practices, also performed well during the period. Laboratory revenue grew by 12% to GBP4.9 million from GBP4.4 million.
During the period, the laboratory division entered into distributorship agreements with technology firm Fuji and Boule Medical to supply in-house analysers and related consumables. The analysers are being rolled out to the practice division replacing old equipment in the practices adding about 1.6% to the laboratory division's revenue in the period.
"Analyser sales to third parties are currently very small but will become an increased focus in 2015 once the roll-out of this equipment to the practice division is complete," the firm added.
Animed Direct, the firm's on-line dispensary, saw revenue grow to GBP3.7 million from GBP2.1 million. The employment of a search engine optimisation specialist early in 2013 helped drive a significant improvement in sales, CVS said.
Post the year-end, the company acquired Cobham-based Silvermere Haven Ltd, a pet crematorium and cemetery, in a deal worth GBP2.4 million.
"It is planned that, over time, this crematorium will take on most of the work of our practices that is currently performed by a third party, thus saving significant costs," CVS said.
Financially, the firm said net debt rose to GBP3.1 million at the year-end compared with GBP2.1 million in July.
The firm paid an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per share up from 1.5 pence per share.
By Anthony Tshibangu; [email protected]; @AnthonyAllNews
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