Results round-up

Tate & Lyle reported an 85% jump in full-year pre-tax profit on Thursday, underpinned by a weaker pound and a solid performance from both divisions.

For the year to the end of March, pre-tax profit rose to £233m from £126m on sales of £2.75bn, up 17% from the year before. Tate said the weaker sterling in the aftermath of the Brexit vote increased adjusted pre-tax profit by £40m compared with the comparative year.

At constant currency, pre-tax profit was up 20%, with a good performance and increased margins in both business divisions. The company declared a final dividend of 19.8p per share, giving a total dividend for the year of 28.0p, unchanged from the year before.

Chief executive Javed Ahmed said: "This has been a year of strong performance. Both business divisions delivered good profit growth, with Bulk Ingredients delivering particularly good results, driven by excellent commercial and manufacturing performance.

"Speciality Food Ingredients performed well delivering profit growth and margin expansion, and continued to strengthen its focus on commercial execution, particularly in North America where volume growth remains challenging. The innovation pipeline is healthy with New Product sales exceeding $100m for the first time."

As far as Brexit is concerned, Tate noted that it generates less than 2% of its revenues in the UK, so the outcome of the referendum is not expected to have a material near-term impact on the business.

Pets at Home posted a jump in sales for the year to 30 March, helped in part by a solid contribution from its vet practices and new openings.

Group revenue was up 7.2% from the comparable period a year ago to £834.2m, with like-for-like sales up 1.5% and total income from the joint venture vet practices up 24.6% to £47.1m.

Statutory pre-tax profit was up 5.8% to £95.4m, while profit before tax and exceptional items related to acquisitions and disposals edged up 1.1% to £96.4m. Merchandise like-for-like sales were up 0.8%, while sales in Services grew 7.9%.

Meanwhile, the company delivered on its rollout targets for the year, opening 15 new superstores, 50 vet practices and 50 grooming salons.

Chief executive officer Ian Kellett said: "We are uniquely positioned as the only UK pet business delivering an integrated omnichannel and services offer, supported by our fast growing Vet Group, market leading private labels and expert colleagues. In an evolving consumer environment, we are taking steps to reposition prices on own label Advanced Nutrition and pet essentials and have made some initial changes to branded food lines.

"Encouraged by the reaction of our customers and having seen an improvement in Merchandise LFL to 1.0% in the 16 weeks since launch, we will move swiftly to deliver even better value. We are confident this is the right path for success and will give us a strong platform for sustainable future growth."

Numis said pre-tax profit of £96.4m is slightly ahead of its estimate of £96.2m and consensus of £95.9m.

"Despite the near-term challenges facing the business, we see the moves to address its price position as significant, enabling the business to get back on the front foot. We believe the scale, quality and visibility of Pets at Home’s long term growth opportunity should support a higher valuation, and move our recommendation from add to buy," Numis said.