Tristel's turnover increases as it continues North American expansion plan

AIM-listed Tristel, a manufacturer of infection prevention products, increased turnover while it continues to expand globally, particularly in North America.

For the year ended 30 June, turnover rose 12% to £17.1m, compared to the previous year, which was ahead of market expectations.

Overseas sales were up 22% to £6.7m, which represented 39% of total sales, up from 36% last year, or a 25% increase in constant currency. The company expects global sales growth to remain in the range of 10% to 15% over the medium term.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), before share based payments, rose 26% to £4.3, while adjusted EBITDA increased about 9% to £3.7m.

Pre-tax profit, before share based payments, climbed 27% to £3.3m as unadjusted pre-tax profit remained flat at £2.6m.

During the year, the company gained approval from 25 overseas regulatory bodies in seven countries.

The company invested £170,000 on product development and testing and £120,000 on patenting in order to protect our intellectual property, both of which are held in intangible assets, while £340,000 was invested in regulatory approval programmes and £130,000 for initiatives to enter the US market in 2014.

Tristel, which remains debt free, had net cash of £5.7m, down 42.5%.

Chief executive Paul Swinney said: "We made very solid progress during the year. International expansion continues to drive revenue growth and we are succeeding in increasing profit margins, even whilst investing in new products and opening up new geographical markets, including North America.

"The progress we are making with the United States Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency, and Canada's Health Protection Branch, is in line with the North American business plan we are developing."

Basic earnings per share, before share based payments, rose 20% to 6.62p.

The company declared a dividend for the full year of 6.33p, an 11% increase, which included a special dividend of 3p per share.

Shares in Tristel were up 3.63% to 165.80p at 0843 BST.