A2 Milk shares soar as half-year profit outstrips estimates
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More news: A2 Milk shares rocketed on the ASX after the dairy company upgraded its full-year revenue growth guidance and declared a first dividend.
A2 Milk shares were up 19% to $7.08 at 1:55pm AEDT, extending gains of around 40% over the last 12 months.
Citi called the result a "big beat" to market forecasts, with first-half net profit after tax 10% ahead of average estimates.
E&P retail analyst Phillip Kimber expects consensus NPAT for the full financial year to be upgraded by 5% to 10%.
A2 Milk lifts revenue forecast, declares first dividend
The news: A2 Milk has upgraded its FY25 revenue growth guidance from mid to high single-digit to low to mid double-digit percent.
The company also declared a first-ever dividend of 8.5cents per share, payable on 4 April.
The numbers: The company reported a 10% increase in revenue to NZD893.8 million ($805.01 million) for the six months to December, with net profit rising 7.6% cent to NZD91.7 million.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 5% to NZD118.9 million, with a margin of 13.3%.
The context: The company’s strong first-half performance was driven by record market share in its China-labelled infant milk formula and double-digit growth in its English-label IMF revenues.
The China and other Asia segment grew 11.8%, and the USA market increased 13%. However, revenues in ANZ declined 2.7% due to a continued downturn in the Daigou channel.
A2 Milk’s net cash position strengthened to NZD1.01 billion.
What they said: CEO David Bortolussi credited the company’s growth strategy for the strong results.
“Our strong first half results and momentum going into the second half have resulted in an upgrade to our FY25 revenue and earnings guidance,” he said.
“We are pleased to declare our first ever dividend, recognising the substantial progress we have made as a business and rewarding our shareholders for their continued support.”
The source: ASX
