Accrol Group Holdings plc
Preliminary results for the twelve months ended 30 April 2017
Accrol Group Holdings plc, the AIM listed leading independent tissue converter, is pleased to announce its preliminary results for the twelve months to 30 April 2017.
Financial Highlights
· Revenue increased 14.2% to £135.1m (FY16: £118.2m)
· Gross Profit increased 9.3% to £37.7m (FY16: £34.5m)
· Adjusted gross margin(1) was 27.9% (FY16: 28.1%) supported by favourable parent reel pricing and significant currency hedging
· Adjusted EBITDA(1) increased 6.8% to £16.1m (FY16: £15.0m)
· Adjusted profit after tax(1) increased 57.3% to £11.0m (FY16: £7.0m)
· Profit after tax increased 29.3% to £7.4m (FY16: £5.7m)
· Continued strong cash generation in a period which included a £3.6m repayment of loan note interest
· Net debt reduced by £41.7m to £19.0m (Net debt / Adjusted EBITDA reduced from 4.0x to 1.2x)
· Basic EPS of 9p and adjusted EPS of 12p
· Final dividend proposed of 4p per ordinary share giving a total of 6p per ordinary share for the full year
Operational Highlights
· Successful maiden full year as a publicly listed company, with a solid trading performance
· New contract wins have seen market share grow to over 50% of the Discount Sector
· Good progress made in building a platform for future growth
· Key new hires to operations and management functions
· Opened new 168,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility at Leyland, Lancashire, with two tissue converting lines commissioned and a third line expected in FY18
· Supply Chain Optimisation plan implemented to improve and simplify warehousing and logistics through a 368,000 sq ft. central warehouse at Skelmersdale and managed by NFT Distribution
Steve Crossley, Chief Executive Officer of Accrol, commented:
“This has been a year of positive change for Accrol as we have transitioned to life as an AIM listed company. We have won new contracts and increased our share of the Discount Sector to over 50%.”
“We continue to build a platform for future growth, having made a significant investment in our new manufacturing facility at Leyland to create extra capacity. A new finished goods warehouse in Skelmersdale, announced in May 2017, will provide central storage and distribution facilities for our customers, improving our supply chain efficiency and enabling us to build on our market position.”
“Increasing input costs, driven by exchange rates, are impacting most product categories in UK retail and like all UK manufacturers, we continue to seek inflation recovery. There are positive signs, with some retailers increasing consumer price points, although it is slower than we expected. We believe that as price increases come through fully in the market, this will continue to drive shoppers to seek good value in the Discount and Multiple own-label sectors.''