Treatt shares hit record as profit beats expectations

Trading since the end of September has been strong and profit for the first four months of the year is likely to exceed the board's expectations, Treatt said in an update.

The company said it was cautiously optimistic that strong momentum would lead to pretax profit before exceptional items "materially" better than the market consensus of £15.1m. Profit on the same basis was £14.8m in the year to the end of September 2020.

Treatt shares rose 12.2% to 864p at 08:44 GMT. The shares, which have risen by more than 175% since March, hit a record high on Friday.

The company produces food ingredients and fragrances for products such as drinks and household cleaners. The company has performed well during the Covid-19 crisis as demand has increased for herbal teas and other wellbeing-related products as well as ingredients for cleaning products.

Demand is high for citrus, health and wellness, fruit and vegetables and tea products, Treatt said. Some products have been hit by closures of venues because of Covid-19 but this has been more than offset by higher demand from off-trade customers.

Daemmon Reeve, Treatt's chief executive, said: "We're encouraged by our strong trading momentum continuing into the current financial year. Whilst mindful of the global backdrop, we are confident that we can make further progress this year to grow organic revenue across an increasingly global and diversified customer base."