Eco Animal Health slumps on profit warning

Veterinary pharmaceuticals developer Eco Animal Health issued a profit warning on Monday, saying it was hit hard by a recent outbreak of the fatal African swine fever across China and the lingering effects of the US' protracted trade war with the Asian nation.

Eco Animal cautioned that its full-year trading performance would come in significantly below current market expectations as a result of a 60% slump in Chinese sales over the first half.

The company attributed the loss chiefly to African swine fever, which had resulted in the death of millions of pigs across China since the first case was reported in August 2018.

Chief executive Marc Loomes said: "ASF continues to have a major impact on our business in China, but I am pleased with the progress we are making in other territories which goes some way to mitigating this."

The AIM-listed group also blamed its losses on the impact of the trade war between Washington and Beijing on its margins.

"The China-USA trade tensions have further exacerbated the effect due to the US swine producers having limited ability to capitalize on the anticipated export market created by the pork shortage in China," said Eco.

Separately, Eco confirmed that interim chairman Dr Andy Jones had been named the group's permanent chair after his leadership confirmed his "exemplary skills" and commitment to ensuring the group had an appropriate level of governance and oversight.

As of 1330 GMT, Eco Animal shares had sunk 29.97% to 250p.