Soft drinks maker Nichols on track
Soft drinks maker Nichols says revenues fell by 19% last year, but that was in line with expectations given Covid-19.
Full year revenues were £118.7m in 2020. That will enable pre-tax profit to be between £11m and £13m, down from £32.4m in 2019. Net cash was better than expected at £47.3m.
The main problem area is out of home, which has been hit by pub closures during lockdowns. These revenues were down by 84% in November and December.
Vimto has been outperforming the soft drinks market. New product development should help Vimto sales this year.
MP Evans profit upgrade
Oil palm plantations operator MP Evans reports a 21% increase in processed crop to 1.2mt, which means that the 2020 profit will be better than expected.
The growth came from additional land and purchases from independent smallholders. This enabled MP Evans to utilise its new milling capacity. Crude palm oil production increased by 17% in 2020. There has also been an improvement in the palm oil price and it his above $1,000/tonne.
Peel Hunt increased its 2020 pre-tax profit forecast from $19.4m to $24.4m, which is nearly double the 2019 figure of $12.6m. The 2021 pre-tax profit forecast of $35.8m could be increased if the palm oil price remains strong.
Abcam returns to growth
Life science research tools supplier Abcam says that interim revenues grew by 7%. This follows the successful floatation on the Nasdaq Global Select Market at the end of last year.
Cambridge-based Abcam expects to report revenues of £147.5m. In-house product sales grew by more than 25% and they account for the majority of interim revenues. Gross margin improved from 69.7% to 70.5%. The adjusted operating margin is 16%.
Revenues grew in all regions other than the Americas, where clinical laboratory activity has been hardest hit by Covid-19.
The interim figures will be published on 8 March.
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