Abcam announces 2020 Full Year Results
- Total revenues level with prior year, with in-house product revenue growth of over 6%, in spite of COVID-19
- Proceeded with investment in all areas of five-year growth plan
14 September 2020: Abcam plc (“Abcam”, “the Group” or “the Company”) AIM: ABC, a global leader in the supply of life science research tools, announces its preliminary results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2020.
SUMMARY PERFORMANCE
|
Reported |
Adjusted2 |
|||||
|
2019/20 £m |
2018/19 £m |
2019/20 £m |
2018/19 £m |
|||
|
Revenue |
260.0 |
259.9 |
260.0 |
259.9 |
||
|
Gross profit margin, % |
69.3% |
70.5% |
69.3% |
70.5% |
||
|
Operating profit |
10.5 |
56.1 |
44.5 |
83.6 |
||
|
Profit Before Tax (PBT) |
8.4 |
56.4 |
42.4 |
83.9 |
||
|
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) (pence) |
6.0p |
21.8p |
16.6p |
32.6p |
||
|
Net Cash* |
80.9 |
87.1 |
80.9 |
87.1 |
||
* Net Cash comprises cash and cash equivalents less borrowings.
GROUP FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Total revenue flat on a reported basis and down 1.4% on a constant exchange rate (CER)1 basis
- In-house catalogue revenue growth of 7.5% on a reported basis (6.2% CER) to £114.4m (2018/19: £106.4m), comprising 47.1% of total catalogue revenue (2018/19: 43.8%)
- Reported operating profit of £10.5m (2018/19: £56.1m) and adjusted2 operating profit of £44.5m (2018/19: £83.6m), equating to an adjusted operating profit margin of 17.1% (2018/19: 32.2%), reflecting planned investments to support long-term strategy, the impact of COVID-19, and anticipated step up in non-cash items including depreciation and amortisation and share-based payments
- Reported diluted EPS of 6.0 pence (2018/19: 21.8 pence) and adjusted2 diluted EPS of 16.6 pence (2018/19: 32.6 pence)
- Net cash inflow from operating activities of £63.0m (2018/19: £70.2m); strong net cash position of £80.9m (2019: £87.1m) following £110m equity placing in April 2020
- Dividends of £25m distributed to shareholders during the year. Capital allocation reviewed by the Board with the intention to prioritise growth investment to maximise long-term value creation
STRATEGIC & OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Responded to COVID-19 to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees and support our customers
- Invested in all strategic areas of our five-year growth plan
- Innovated and published over 2,000 new in-house recombinant antibody products, ahead of target; launched in-house protein and engineered cell lines ranges
- Expanded our team and capabilities to serve biopharma and industry partners; executed over 50 partnership agreements in this area, including with Cancer Research UK
- Acquired, integrated and invested in four acquisitions that have brought new products, technologies and capabilities into the business, including the proteomics and immunology businesses of Expedeon
- Continued to strengthen senior team, including the appointment of Michael Baldock as CFO and Juan Carlos Sacristan as SVP of Data and Technology
- Completed sustainability review and established a working framework aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
UPDATE ON POTENTIAL US SECONDARY LISTING
To further support the Group’s plans, in July 2020, the Board announced its intention to explore a secondary listing in the United States. Further to subsequent discussions and analysis, the Board has concluded to pursue a proposed secondary listing on Nasdaq, supplementing the Group’s existing listing on AIM. The proposed listing is expected to occur in the final calendar quarter of 2020, subject to market and other conditions.
CURRENT TRADING & LONG-TERM OUTLOOK
The improving trends in customer activity levels seen during the final quarter of our last fiscal year have continued into our new fiscal year as more laboratories continue to partially or fully reopen.
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and obvious risk around further outbreaks and potential for the re-introduction of more stringent lock-down measures, the Company is not providing full year guidance at this time.
Despite the heightened uncertainty that COVID-19 continues to bring to our near-term outlook, the fundamentals of our business remain strong and the medium- and long-term growth prospects attractive. Accordingly, our investment plans remain unchanged as we continue to focus on achieving our 2023/24 financial goals, comprising revenue of £450-500m; an adjusted operating margin of over 30% and a Return on Capital Employed of over 18%.
Alan Hirzel, Abcam’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I am proud of our teams and what we have achieved during this unprecedented time. We have retained our focus on our life sciences customers in the most demanding circumstances, enabling them to perform their vital work faster. As I look to the future, I remain confident in our evolved strategy and the strong fundamentals that support the potential of our business. We are building Abcam to increase its positive impact on science and society and to generate long-term value for all our stakeholders. We have continued to invest heavily in future growth as we execute our strategy to again double the size of the business.”
