Porvair plc (“Porvair” or “the Group”), the specialist filtration, laboratory and environmental technology group, announces its results for the year ended 30 November 2020.
Highlights
· Revenue 7% lower at £135.0 million (2019: £144.9 million).
· Operating profit 15% lower at £12.6 million (2019: £14.8 million).
· Adjusted operating profit* 13% lower at £13.6 million (2019: £15.6 million).
· Profit before tax 17% lower at £11.6 million (2019: £14.0 million). Adjusted profit before tax* 15% lower at £12.6 million (2019: £14.8 million).
· Basic earnings per share was 18.4 pence (2019: 23.6 pence). Adjusted basic earnings per share* were 21.6 pence (2019: 25.3 pence).
· Net cash was £4.9 million (2019: £4.0 million) after investing £4.2 million (2019: £14.1 million) in capital expenditure and acquisitions.
· Recommended final dividend of 3.3 pence (2019: 3.2 pence) bringing the full year dividend to 5.0 pence (2019: 4.9 pence).
Commenting on the outlook, Ben Stocks, Chief Executive, said:
“Until the pandemic recedes, near-term trading remains unpredictable and the Group continues to withhold earnings guidance. But the results for the year turned out to be better than initially feared in our contingency planning. This was partly because the Group went into the pandemic financially sound and stable; and partly because the underlying growth drivers for most of the markets we serve remain in place, even though they are currently more volatile than usual. We expect demand for emissions control, clean water, process efficiency and laboratory consumables to revert to normal levels as economies allow. Certain end markets, aerospace in particular, may take longer to recover; while others, mainly in the Laboratory Division, are already rebounding strongly.
“We entered 2021 with a strong balance sheet and a lower cost base than a year ago, which will be helpful while we wait for vaccinations to bring the pandemic under control. The next few months may continue to be difficult, but beyond that we are increasingly optimistic. Investments made over the last few years will help margins and our new product development pipeline is strong for the near term. Prospects for the medium term are good and Porvair should return to its historical levels of growth once the pandemic retreats.”