Benchmark seeks new chairman
BENCHMARK chairman Alex Hambro is to retire from the board to focus on his other business interests.
The board is now looking for his successor and said it will plan for an orderly handover once an individual is identified.
In a press release Benchmark said:‘This process corresponds with the company’s ongoing transition from a phase of rapid acquisition led growth since its IPO in December 2013, to one more focused on organic growth, integration and operational execution.
‘Over the last three years, Benchmark has built an international platform with strong market positions in health, advanced nutrition and genetics, that are each centred on the large and growing aquaculture market.
‘The group is now focused on improving its profitability through leveraging its global platform and is reviewing its activities in areas that fall outside of aquaculture.
‘As reported in our recent preliminary results, substantial progress is being achieved across all of the group’s activities.’
The company reported a revenue rise from £109 million to £140 million in preliminary results for its last financial year, ending September 2017. Losses in the aquaculture health, nutrition and genetics business were down, from £20.5 million to £7.6 million, while EBITDA increased nine per cent to £10 million,.
Malcolm Pye, Benchmark’s CEO, said 2017 had been a year of ‘significant operational and strategic progress’.
‘Despite certain challenges, we have continued our focused investment in the development of the group’s pipeline and have put in place important technological, infrastructure and organisational building blocks.
‘The organic growth delivered in the year and the achievement of significant milestones, together with the increased activity in many of our key markets at the end of the year, leaves us full of confidence going into the new financial year.
‘The continued growing global demand for aquaculture products, the disease challenges faced, and pressure to limit the use of antibiotics, puts the group in a strong position to drive growth for many years to come.’
Sales in animal health decreased from £24.8 million to £15.1 million as a result of a drop in sales of Salmosan. Investment in R&D, which
included the development of the Clean Treat water purification system, amounted to £15.2 million in total.
The strongest performance in the group was in its genetics division, which reported a 47 per cent sales growth to £30.5 million, driven by increased demand for salmon eggs, with sales up in every major market.