Science in Sport plc (AIM: SIS), the premium performance nutrition company serving elite athletes, sports enthusiasts and the gym lifestyle community, is pleased to announce its pre-close trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2019.
Group revenue for the six month period was £24.9m, up 152% compared with the same period last year (H1 2018: £9.9m) reflecting the acquisition of PhD Nutrition Ltd (“PhD”) in December 2018 and strong growth of the SiS brand. On a like-for-like basis, total Group sales grew 21%.
The PhD brand traded in line with expectations in the six month period, with half year sales up 16% at £12.4m (H1 2018 pro forma £10.7m*). International sales were up 58% while UK sales were up 7%.
The SiS brand's sales were up 25% in the period at £12.5m (H1 2018: £9.9m) driven by international growth, up 55%. Growth in the UK was up 10% and sales from the SiS website were up strongly at 52%.
Integration of the two businesses is progressing well and is in line with our plan and expectations. Important milestones achieved in the first half include relaunching the PhD.com website, opening an e-commerce fulfilment facility and exploiting international distribution synergies, for example the PhD brand has been launched in a number of existing SiS markets.
Further international initiatives are anticipated in the current half year, including the test marketing of PhD in the US this summer and the Middle Eastern launch of the SiS brand via PhD's existing distribution.
New product launches during the period included PhD's vegan Smart Bar Plant, which is already PhD's fourth best-selling product, and the SiS brand's innovative range for footballers of all levels. Planned launches in the current half include the SiS vegan Plant20 Bar.
The Group's cash position at the half year remained strong at £5m.
The Group continues to trade well and remains in line with market expectations for the full year.