Anpario plc ("Anpario""Group" or the "Company")
Final results
Anpario plc (AIMANP), the independent manufacturer of natural sustainable feed additives for animal health, nutrition and biosecurity is pleased to announce its full year results for the twelve months to 31 December 2024.
Financial highlights
23% increase in revenue to £38.2m (2023£31.0m).
Improvement in gross margin to 46.9% (2023: 45.0%).
88% increase in profit before tax to £5.2m (2023: £2.8m).
57% increase in adjusted EBITDA1 to £7.0m (2023: £4.5m).
Basic earnings per share up 83% to 24.66p (2023: 13.51p).
Diluted adjusted earnings1 per share up 84% to 28.12p (2023: 15.31p).
Increase of proposed final dividend to 8.00p (2023: 7.50p) per share, resulting in a total dividend for the year of 11.25p (2023: 10.70p) per share.
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of £10.5m at the year-end (2023: £10.6m).
Operational highlights
Acquisition of Bio-Vet Inc. ("Bio-Vet") strengthens ruminant expertise, product range and presence in key US market
contributing £2.2m to Group sales in final quarter.
Like-for-like (excluding Bio-Vet) sales and volume growth of 16% and 27% respectively.
Growth across all product groups with strong recovery in volumes in acid-based eubiotics, mycotoxin and pellet binders.
Strong sales growth in the Middle East, Asia and Europe muted by decreases in the United States and Brazil.
Outlook
Strong start to trading in the current year.
Asia, Europe and the Middle East are expected to continue to benefit from recovery in agriculture markets.
Key exporting countries such as the United States and Brazil will continue to face challenges due to animal diseases, trade tariff disputes and food security policies pursued in certain regions.
Sales and marketing initiatives to launch Bio-Vets key product brands internationally.
The Groups broad product range, species expertise, geographic diversity and reputation as the leading manufacturer of natural and sustainable feed additive solutions gives the Board confidence in building on last years result.
Matthew RobinsonChairman of the Companycommented
"2024 was a year of strong recovery following a challenging prior year for the global agricultural industry. What we did not fully anticipate at the start of the year was the speed of recovery which, when combined with our business development initiatives, delivered a profit performance taking us back to the Groups previous peak level achieved in 2021.
We are therefore delighted by the nature of this performance achieving our highest ever sales, a recovery in gross margins to 46.9% (2023: 45.0%), basic earnings per share up 83% to 24.66p (2023: 13.51p) and diluted adjusted earnings per share up 84% at 28.12p. Cash generation from operations was also strong again at £7.0m (2023: £8.1m).
A key milestone was the acquisition of Bio-Vet at the end of September 2024, which strengthens our ruminant expertise and product range, broadening our species mix, and strengthening our operational footprint with a second production facility located in Wisconsin, USA. It is also pleasing to see Bio-Vets unique technology in demand helping dairy cows recover quicker from the impact of avian influenza.
Anparios balance sheet remains strong with a year-end cash, cash equivalents and short-term investment balance of £10.5m (2023: £10.6m), after accounting for the acquisition of Bio-Vet and associated land and buildings for an initial outlay cash consideration of £4.3m."
1 Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings are defined in note 6 of the financial statements.
Chairmans statement
Overview
Anpario reports its revenue and profit performance during a year of recovery for the Group and the global agricultural industry. Sales were £38.2m (2023: £31.0m), a 23% increase on the previous year including a sales contribution of £2.2m from Bio-Vet during the final quarter. On a like-for-like basis (excluding Bio-Vet), sales grew by 16%. Gross margins also improved to 46.9% (2023: 45.0%) due to the passing through of raw material price inflation into selling prices and the recovery of production overheads from additional volume flowing through the factory. Weighted average selling prices decreased by 9%, reflecting volume growth in a broader range of products in our portfolio, with our market leading Orego-Stim® product continuing its upward trajectory by delivering sales growth of 8%. The Group delivered adjusted EBITDA1 of £7.0m (2023: £4.5m) and profit before tax increased 88% to £5.2m (2023: £2.8m). 2024 has broadly seen our financial measures exceed our previous peak year in 2021, illustrating the strong recovery and excellence of the business and its staff.
2024 has not been without its challenges, which have impacted our Americas region, particularly in the United States, where several circumstances, including tariffs on US pork producers supplying China, affected farm profitability, and tough local market conditions in Brazil. However, these performances have been offset by strong performances in Asia, Europe and especially the Middle East, which delivered an increase in sales of 78%. The recovery in volumes in our acid-based eubiotic range and mycotoxin binders is welcome and our Mastercube® pellet binder delivered sales growth of 71% as demand for sustainable natural products in aquaculture and the pet sector increased.
The acquisition of Bio-Vet at the end of September was a key highlight and gives the Group a stronger platform in ruminant species products and expertise and a modern US production facility from which to expand for the future. We look forward to marketing Bio-Vets innovative technology in other regions around the world through our established sales channels and wholeheartedly welcome their staff to the Anpario family. The Groups strong balance sheet enabled the acquisition to be financed from cash reserves and with cash generated from operations for the year being strong again at £7.0m for the year (2023: £8.1m), the Group had a year-end cash and cash-equivalents balance of £10.5m (2023: £10.6m).
Our business development activities are focused on strengthening our sales channels enabling us to grow market share in the key attractive territories and customer segments of the future. We continue to invest in our technologies with several scientific trials and new product development initiatives ongoing, and are experiencing increased demand for established products such as Red-Lite, an environmentally friendly insecticide for grain and feed stores and poultry houses, where the trend is to move away from harmful chemical alternatives. Combining Anparios phytogenic and Bio-Vets probiotic knowledge and capabilities is expected to create numerous new and innovative product solutions for customers across all species, furthering the Groups already strong portfolio of innovative products to meet the changing trends in our markets whether driven by regulatory, environmental, sustainability or consumer demand considerations.
People
The success this year would not have been possible without the tough decisions made by management in previous years and the dedication and invaluable contribution of our staff. The team capitalised on those decisions and worked together across the world to deliver our best performance to date. Welcoming Bio-Vet staff to the Group is a real pleasure especially as we share values, vision and culture in building a global specialty feed additive champion. I therefore thank staff across the Group for their continued loyalty and commitment in all aspects of the business and look forward to continued success.
Dividend
The Board will be recommending at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting ("AGM") a final dividend of 8.00 pence per share (2023: 7.50 pence) resulting in a total of 11.25 pence per share for the year (2023: 10.70 pence), an increase of 5%. This dividend, payable on 25 July 2025 to shareholders on the register on 11 July 2025 (ex-dividend date of 10 July 2025), reflects the Boards continued confidence in the prospects for the Group and its ability to generate strong cashflows.
AGM
The Board plans to hold the AGM in London on Thursday 19 June 2025, at 11.00am providing an opportunity for shareholders to meet and ask questions of the Board. Further details will be announced in due course.
Outlook
There has been a strong start to the year and with an increasing gross margin run rate we expect this to flow through to our operating performance. At the same time, we remain mindful that global trade conditions are likely to remain somewhat uncertain, and the current trade and tariff disputes may present challenges for the agriculture industry in certain geographies. We have already experienced the impact in territories in the Americas, but our geographic diversity means that we are also benefitting from other regions with brighter near-term prospects. Animal diseases such as avian influenza may present additional challenges, but our species diversity continues to provide resilience and reinforces our strategy of spreading risk effectively across different market and species segments.
Anpario is at the forefront of changing attitudes to intensive farming around the world and increasing the use of natural ingredients. The demand for our products is expected to continue to increase due to their effects of enhancing gut health, replacing less desirable current practices and improving production efficiency, aligning closely with evolving expectations from consumers and farmers. As ever, operating globally brings a variety of opportunities and challenges, but the quality and ambition of our employees and our strong sales growth gives me confidence that we can successfully build on the years excellent result.
Matthew Robinson
Chairman
30 March 2025
Chief Executive Officers statement
Overview of the financial year
Group sales for the year to 31 December 2024 increased by 23% to £38.2m (2023: £31.0m), including a contribution of £2.2m from Bio-Vet in the final quarter. There were strong sales performances in Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific and European regions and including the contribution from Bio-Vet the Americas delivered sales growth of 14% to £10.3m. However, the United States (excluding Bio-Vet) and Brazil, both struggled with sales decreasing by 28% and 20% respectively. The strong performance overall was lifted by an outstanding result in the Middle East with sales increasing by 78%, and an excellent 17% increase in sales from Asia, which is our biggest region accounting for more than a third of Group sales. On a like-for-like basis (excluding Bio-Vet), Group sales grew by 16%.
In a complete about turn to the prior year, the product groups exposed to more price competition such as acid-based eubiotics, mycotoxin binders and pellet binders, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, experienced a strong recovery in volumes which in turn helped gross margins improve as more production overheads were recovered. Furthermore, our higher value differentiated product brands Orego-Stim®, Optomega® Algae and Mastercube® delivered a combined sales growth of over 17%, accounting for almost half of Group sales. Overall, our product volumes grew by 27% compared to the same period last year. As expected, growth in the relatively lower value-added price sensitive products meant a decline in the weighted average price of 9%.
Gross profit increased by 28% to £17.9m (2023: £14.0m), including a final quarter contribution from Bio-Vet, for the year to 31 December 2024. The uplift in gross margins was helped by a combination of price rises to recover raw material price inflation and recovery of production overheads from increased volumes through the factory. The automation investment and reconfiguring shift patterns following the prior years downturn in volumes helped to improve efficiency.
Orego-Stim® continues to perform well with sales increasing by 8% on volume increases of 11% as the switch away from alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) continues delivering strong growth in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Europe. Anparios natural pellet binder, Mastercube®, delivered a very strong performance with sales and volume growth of 71% and 91% respectively and now accounts for 9% of Group sales. Our 100% natural and sustainable solution requires specialist knowledge to ensure feed mills optimise pellet consistency and quality, delivering benefits such as lower energy consumption, lower inclusion and enabling customers to eliminate the use of hazardous alternatives such as polymethylcarbamide (PMC), which are not approved for use in animal feed in certain jurisdictions including the European Union.
One of our more established products called Red-Lite is a
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