5th Apr 2016 07:00
PURECIRCLE LIMITED
("PureCircle" or "the Company")
Trading Update
PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world's leading producer and marketer of high purity stevia ingredients, today provides an update on its trading for the year ended 30 June 2016 ("FY16").
During FY16 developments in the global sweetener market have continued to favour the mid to long term growth prospects for stevia. These have included further regulatory approvals, including the important markets of India and Brazil, and increasing governmental actions against added sugar, including the proposed UK sugar tax announced in the March 2016 UK Budget.
Trading in our third quarter to 31 March has continued to be strong with year to date sales growth in line with H1. Within our fourth quarter FY16 pipeline, there are more than $40m of projects that are subject to the timing of our clients launch plans where we do not yet have full visibility on when these launches will occur. Assuming that not all these projects do launch in the fourth quarter 2016, we expect year on year sales growth for the FY16 full year to be not less than 10%.
In March, the Group reported strong improvements in its 1H FY16 operating margins with all 1H FY16 measures of profitability in line with or ahead of consensus for the 1H FY16 period. At forecast full year FY16 foreign exchange rates, strong improvements in profit margins are currently expected to continue across the balance of FY16, such that, even if not all sales projects close in FY16, we still expect net profit for the full year FY16 to be in line with consensus.
Commenting on the trading update the Group Chief Executive Magomet Malsagov commented: "The market for stevia and our sales activity both continue to grow strongly. However, as I said in March, the trajectory of our sales growth will be uneven and is dependent on the pace and extent of customer roll-outs. Although the precise level of our short term growth is uncertain, our operating margins continue to strengthen, which gives us confidence in the increasing future profitability of the Group."
5 April 2016
Enquiries: | |
Magomet Malsagov, CEO | +603 2166 2066 |
William Mitchell, CFO | +44 7974 005 163 |
NOTES TO EDITORS
PureCircle Limited is the world's leading producer of high-purity stevia ingredients for the global food and beverage industry. Its mission is to encourage healthier diets around the world through the supply of natural ingredients to the global food and beverage industry. Its vision is to lead the global expansion of stevia as the next mass volume, natural-origin sweetener. PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Business was founded in 2002. PureCircle's shares are listed on the main market of London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol PURE. For more information, visit: www.purecircle.com.
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