8th Sep 2015 06:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Animal genetics company Genus PLC on Tuesday said its pretax profit was boosted in its recently-ended financial year by volume growth and acquisitions, as revenue increased and it hiked its dividend payout.
The FTSE 250 company said its pretax profit for the year to the end of June was GBP57.8 million, up from GBP38.2 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to GBP398.5 million from GBP372.2 million, as the group achieved volume growth of 6% across its porcine and dairy and beef operations.
The company said it will pay a final dividend of 13.4 pence per share, bringing its total dividend payout to 19.5 pence, up 10% year-on-year.
The group's porcine unit performed well in the year, boosted by the integration of Génétiporc and good organic trading, while its Asia region profit held up well despite difficulties faced in the Chinese and Russian markets. The beef business also performed well, though profit in the unit was flat due to higher product costs.
"Genus performed well in 2015 achieving operational results that reflect the strategic progress and improvement we have been making. The opportunity in the animal genetics market remains large. We are convinced that as we vigorously execute our strategy of innovation and market focus, we will capture more of the market opportunity," said Karim Bitar, Genus' chief executive.
"While market conditions across our industries and geographies look likely to be mixed in 2016, we expect underlying performance to be in line with expectations. However, currencies remain a significant headwind," Bitar added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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