Morgan Advanced Materials revenue, earnings down in 2020

Morgan Advanced Materials reported a 13.2% fall in revenue in its final results on Thursday, or 11.4% at organic constant currency, to £910.7m.

The FTSE 250 company said group adjusted operating profit was off 31.7%, or 28.1% at organic constant currency, to £91.7m, as its group adjusted operating profit margin narrowed to 10.1% from 12.8%.

Adjusted earnings per share fell to 19p from 28p for the year ended 31 December, while the firm’s total dividend per share was up to 5.5p, compared to 4p in 2019.

Cash generated from operating activities totalled £146.3m, down from £164.8m, while free cash flow before acquisitions, disposals and dividends improved to £72.4m from £59.2m.

On a statutory basis, Morgan swung to a loss before tax of £13.1m from a profit of £109.7m in 2019, while its continuing and discontinued losses per share were 7.9p, compared to earnings of 25.7p per share in the prior year.

Morgan Advanced Materials said trading was “resilient” in the year, with the revenue decline of 11.4% on an organic constant currency basis showing the benefit of diverse end-markets, with growth in healthcare and security and defence segments offset by declines in industrial and transportation.

It said its focus on cost and cash management delivered a net debt-to-EBITDA position of 0.8x excluding lease liabilities.

The group-wide restructuring programme was said to be ahead of plan, with the board increasing the company’s cost savings target to £23m per annum by 2022 for a cash cost of £30m.

Morgan also said it was committing to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2030, as part of its aspiration to reach a net zero goal by 2050.

“The resilience of our results demonstrates the improvements we have made to the business in the last four years, the rapid action we have taken to manage our costs and the benefits of our diverse end-market segments,” said chief executive officer Pete Raby.

“Through this difficult period, we have continued with our long-term investments in research and development, sales and other infrastructure to support the future growth of the business.

“We are well positioned to grow our business and expand our margins as our markets recover.”

At 0913 GMT, shares in Morgan Advanced Materials were up 0.48% at 316p.