Financial Highlights
· Revenue increased 8.8% to £63.9m (H1 FY16: £58.7m)
· Gross Profit increased 5.6% to £18.2m (H1 FY16: £17.2m)
· Adjusted gross margin improved by 1.1% to 28.4% (H1 FY16: 27.3%) through significant currency hedging pre and post EU referendum and negotiated parent reel pricing
· Adjusted EBITDA increased 1.5% to £7.1m (H1 FY16: £7.0m)
· Net debt reduced by £3.2m from £23.1m at flotation to £19.9m at 31 October 2016
· We have significantly increased our foreign currency facilities and have continued with our existing hedging strategy
· Maiden interim dividend announced of 2p per ordinary share
Operational Highlights
· Successful IPO in June 2016 raising £63.5m
· Our market share of discount sector has increased to circa 50%
· Significant contract wins previously announced with Booker, Poundstretcher and Lidl
· Early indications that Lidl contract likely to deliver more than £10m in annual revenue
· New 168,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility at Leyland, Lancashire progressing on target with production starting end of January 2017
· Senior team strengthened in Manufacturing, Supply Chain, HR, Procurement and Engineering. Successful and complete transition of key operations from the Hussain Family to the new Operational Board
· Operational initiatives underway including; price inflation recovery, manufacturing optimisation and supply chain optimisation
Steve Crossley, Chief Executive Officer of Accrol, commented:
“Our strong first half performance demonstrates the success of our strategy of organic growth through Discounters and increasing market share through the supply of Private Label products to some of the UK's largest retailers.
“We have continued to win new business, including a contract with Lidl which is expected to generate more than the £10m sales per year previously announced, increased our market share in the discount sector to circa 50% and have made significant progress with our strategic plan of making operational improvements and increasing capacity to ensure we can best meet the growing demand for our products. We remain confident in the outlook for the full year.”
There will be an analyst presentation to discuss the results at 9.30 on 4th January 2017 at the offices of Camarco. In addition, there will be a webinar for investors on 5thth January 2017 at 5.45pm. If you would like to join the webinar, please register at https://www.equitydevelopment.co.uk/news-and-events/