For immediate release

14 September 2016

 

 

Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc

(“AMS” or the “Group”)

 

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2016

 

Winsford, UK, 14 September 2016: Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc (AIM: AMS), the surgical and advanced woundcare specialist company, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2016.

 

Financial Highlights:

 

	H1 2016	H1 2015	Reported growth	Growth at  constant currency¹
Group revenue (£ million)	39.2	32.7	20%	17%
Adjusted² profit before tax (£ million)	9.5	8.2	16%
Profit before tax (£ million)	9.0	8.0	13%
Adjusted² diluted earnings per share (pence)	3.68p	3.23p	14%
Diluted earnings per share (pence)	3.46p	3.15p	10%
Net operating cash flow before exceptional items3 (£ million)	9.8	7.9	23%
Net cash (£ million)4	41.1	22.6	82%
Interim dividend per share (pence)	0.30p	0.25p	20%

 

 

Business Highlights:

·      Good sales progress across all Business Units

o  Branded Distributed revenues up 50% to £9.6 million (2015 H1: £6.4 million) and by 46% at constant currency

o  Branded Direct revenues up 8% to £12.0 million (2015 H1: £11.1 million) and by 5% at constant currency

o  OEM revenues up 9% to £14.7 million (2015 H1: £13.5 million) and by 8% at constant currency

o  Bulk Materials revenues up 66% to £2.8 million (2015 H1: £1.7 million) and by 60% at constant currency

·      Continued improvement and strong performance in the US with LiquiBand^® tissue adhesive range

o  Revenues up 83% to £6.0 million (2015 H1: £3.3 million), and by 74% at constant currency

o  Market share by volume increased to 19% (December 2015: 17%) in the combined hospital and non-hospital market  

·      Expanded use of Hernia Mesh Fixation device, LiquiBand^® Fix8™, with £0.8 million of sales (2015 H1: £0.4 million)

·      Sales of RESORBA^® branded products into Germany and Czech Republic up 9% to £6.4 million  (2015 H1: £5.9 million) and by 4% at constant currency

·      ActivHeal sales flat, although market share continues to grow

·      R&D pipeline delivering results with antimicrobial foam dressings and atraumatic foam dressings, now both launched into Europe

·      First sales of RESORBA^® sutures into the US with positive initial feedback 

 

Commenting on the interim results, Chris Meredith, CEO of AMS, said:

 

“The first half of 2016 has seen another period of strong financial growth by the Group. As was disclosed at the time of our trading update in July, revenues (primarily as a result of currency effects) were expected to be ahead and profitability to be in line with current market expectations for the full year. This continues to be the case.

 

“AMS continues to grow market share in the US tissue adhesives market with LiquiBand^® performing strongly now holding 19% of the total market. LiquiBand^® Fix8™, our innovative new surgical device currently used for Hernia Mesh Fixation, is also performing well and has now been launched into a further five countries, and we are currently exploring other indications for its use. In addition, following the regulatory approvals gained in 2015, we have successfully launched two new ranges of foam dressings into Europe and have made our first sales of sutures into the US.

 

“The business is in robust health and the Board remains optimistic about our longer-term organic growth prospects and our innovative R&D pipeline. The Board is regularly evaluating acquisition opportunities to complement our organic growth and to optimise the value of our strong financial position.”

 

– End –

 

1    Constant currency removes the effect of currency movements by re-translating the current period’s performance at the previous period’s exchange rates

2    All items are shown before exceptional items which, in 2016 H1 were £0.4 million (2015 H1: £nil) and before amortisation of acquired intangible assets which, in 2016 H1, were £0.1 million (2015 H1: £0.2 million) as defined in the financial review

3    Operating cash flow is arrived at by taking the operating profit for the period before exceptional items of £0.4 million (2015 H1: £nil) and adjusting it for depreciation, amortisation, working capital movements and other non cash items

4    Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents plus short term investments less financial liabilities and bank loans

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc	Tel: +44 (0) 1606 545508
Chris Meredith, Chief Executive Officer Mary Tavener, Group Finance Director
Consilium Strategic Communications	Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
Mary-Jane Elliott / Jonathan Birt / Matthew Neal / Hendrik Thys
Investec Bank plc (NOMAD) & Broker	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7597 5970
Daniel Adams / Patrick Robb

 

 

About Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc

 

AMS is a world-leading independent developer and manufacturer of innovative and technologically advanced products for the global surgical, wound care and wound closure markets, focused on quality outcomes for patients and value for payers. AMS has a wide range of products that include silver alginates, alginates, foams, tissue adhesives, sutures and haemostats, which it markets under its brands ActivHeal^®, LiquiBand^® and RESORBA^® as well as supplying under white label.

 

AMS’s products, manufactured out of two sites in the UK, one in the Netherlands, two in Germany and one in the Czech Republic, are sold in 75 countries via a network of multinational or regional partners and distributors, as well as via AMS’s own direct sales forces in the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia. Established in 1991, the Group has 530 employees. For more information please see www.admedsol.com.

Chairman’s Statement

 

AMS continues to perform well across the Group and is on track to deliver another year of good growth.

 

In summary our key achievements within the period are as follows:

 

One of our key products, LiquiBand^®, increased market share to 19% in the US tissue adhesive market and separately, in the US, following FDA approval in November 2015, we are now pleased to have initiated our first sales of RESORBA^® sutures into this important market.

 

During the period we also launched two new ranges of foam dressings. Our antimicrobial foam dressing was launched into Europe following the CE mark approval that we received in August 2015.  This foam incorporates PHMB (polyhexamethylene biguanide), which has been shown to be effective against several bacteria and known hospital “super bugs”, strengthening AMS’s position in the antimicrobial advanced woundcare market. In addition, our foam portfolio was further increased by the launch of our new atraumatic silicone foam dressing range.  

 

Financially, we remain very strong. In the first six months of the year, revenue increased by 20% to £39.2 million (2015 H1: £32.7 million), representing growth of 17% at constant currency and adjusted profit before tax⁵ increased by 16% to £9.5 million (2015 H1: £8.2 million). Our net cash position has increased to £41.1 million as at 30 June 2016 (31 December 2015: £34.2 million).

 

To further accelerate our growth beyond our own strong organic means, we continue to evaluate and consider potential acquisitions that are in line with the Group’s strategy.

 

Dividend

 

The Board intends to pay an interim dividend of 0.30p per share (2015 H1: 0.25p), an increase of 20%, on 28 October 2016 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 30 September 2016.

 

Team

 

On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all Group employees for their continued hard work that has helped AMS to prosper as a global medical technology business, as well as our customers, suppliers, business partners and shareholders for their continued support.

 

Outlook

 

The Group continues to trade in line with current market expectations for profit and, as a result of the positive impact of currency, ahead of market expectations for revenue for the year ending 31 December 2016.

 

 

Peter Allen

Chairman

 

 

 

 

5      Adjusted profit before tax is adjusted for exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangible assets

 

 

Chief Executive’s Review

 

I am pleased to report another six months of good performance at AMS across all of our Business Units.

 

Business Review

 

Branded Distributed

 

Branded Distributed revenue was 50% higher at £9.6 million (2015 H1: £6.4 million) and 46% higher at constant currency.

 

LiquiBand^® in the US

Sales of LiquiBand^® into the US continue to perform well and have increased by 83% to £6.0 million and by 74% at constant currency (2015 H1: £3.3 million) with our portfolio of cyanoacrylate formulations successfully addressing the needs of the market.  

 

Latest industry data shows our overall market share by volume increasing to 19% up from 17% as at December 2015 and we are well on our way to meeting our original target of gaining 20% of the US topical tissue adhesives market share by volume. We still expect to see significant gains from the current level over the next five years. 

 

LiquiBand^® in the EU and ROW

LiquiBand^® sales through our export distributors have continued to perform well and have shown good growth in the EU and ROW with sales increasing by 17% to £0.9 million (2015 H1: £0.7 million) at both reported and constant currency.

 

LiquiBand^® Fix8™

LiquiBand^® Fix8™ is used to fix hernia meshes in place, and was first launched in Europe in the second half of 2014. It was the Group’s first application using our medical cyanoacrylate technology inside the body. Surgeon response to this product has been positive and sales have increased by 94% at both reported and constant currency to £0.5 million (2015 H1: £0.3 million). We have now launched this product in a further five countries.

 

Following positive feedback from surgeons, we now expect to develop further opportunities for this kind of application, broadening the market for the use of adhesives internally. This is an important part of our strategy to increase our penetration of the Operating Room (“OR”).

 

RESORBA^®

Sales of RESORBA^® products to all export markets, excluding Russia, increased 12% at reported currency to £1.6 million (2015 H1: £1.4 million), and by 8% at constant currency.

 

Sales into the Russian market, increased 7% to £0.48 million (2015 H1: £0.42 million) at reported currency and by 21% at constant currency. However, market conditions in this territory remain challenging.

 

Regulatory approval to supply RESORBA^® sutures into the US market was obtained for the majority of our suture product portfolio in November 2015. We have now launched a range of dental sutures through a new distributor with a strong dental focus. The initial sales of £0.1 million will include an element of stocking, however, initial feedback has been positive and we expect further orders this year.

 

We are building on the success of this Business Unit by increasing our sales and marketing resource in the US and Europe as well as establishing a presence in the Far East which presents an opportunity in a region where we believe the quality of our products will drive success.  

 

Branded Direct

 

The reported revenue for the Branded Direct business unit was 8% higher at £12.0 million (2015 H1: £11.1 million) and 5% higher at constant currency.

 

Following the initiatives that were taken in 2015, we are pleased with the initial progress that has been made.

 

LiquiBand^®

UK sales of LiquiBand^® into the Accident and Emergency Room (“A&E”) increased 9% to £1.2 million (2015 H1: £1.1 million) while sales into the OR increased 28% to £0.5 million (2015 H1: £0.4 million).

As expected, we are seeing the return to growth of our LiquiBand^® accounts following the changes implemented, while sales into the OR have been enhanced by LiquiBand^® Fix8™.

 

Sales of LiquiBand^® into Germany increased by 26% to £0.9 million (H1 2015: £0.7 million) and by 20% at constant currency with sales of LiquiBand^® Fix8™ doubling in the same period.

 

ActivHeal^®

Sales of our ActivHeal^® range of wound care dressings into the NHS were flat at £2.9 million (2015 H1: £2.9 million). Sales are lower than expected, and have been impacted from some unusual ordering patterns from our UK distributors that occurred at the start of the year. End sales data indicates that our market share continues to grow and that the lack of growth in our first half sales is due to timing. The ActivHeal^® proposition of delivering significant cost savings, with uncompromised clinical outcomes and patient care, continues to appeal to NHS Trusts. We expect this brand to continue to progress and to show growth for the full year.

 

RESORBA^®

Sales of RESORBA^® branded products into Germany and the Czech Republic increased by 9% to £6.4 million (2015 H1: £5.9 million), and grew 4% at constant currency. Sales of haemostats increased 10% at constant currency to £1.8 million and sales of sutures and collagens into the dental market were flat at constant currency at £1.8 million. We are starting to see the benefits of converting hospitals following tender wins in 2015.

 

OEM

 

OEM revenue increased 9% at reported currency to £14.7 million (2015 H1: £13.5 million) and by 8% at constant currency.

In August 2015 we obtained CE approval to market in Europe our antimicrobial foam incorporating polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB). PHMB has been shown to be effective against several bacteria especially Escherichia Coli (E-Coli) and Staphylococcus Aureus, including the methicillin resistant type (MRSA). This PHMB Antimicrobial Foam Wound Dressing can be used on exuding chronic and acute wounds that are infected or are at risk of infection and can be applied to pressure ulcers, leg and foot ulcers, diabetic ulcers and surgical wounds. Sales into the EU were £0.5 million in the first six months. We were expecting to obtain US approval in the first half of 2016, however, further clinical trials were requested by the FDA and approval is now expected towards the end of the second half of 2016.

As anticipated, the launch of our new antimicrobial foam has had some short-term impact on our silver alginate sales. Sales in the first six months declined 3% at reported currency to £7.6 million (2015 H1: £7.9 million) and 4% at constant currency. Overall, AMS’s position in the antimicrobial advanced woundcare market has been strengthened by this addition to our portfolio and our total antimicrobial offering has grown 3% at reported currency and 2% at constant currency despite the general slow-down in the global advanced wound care market.

In addition to launching our antimicrobial foam range, we have also launched a range of atraumatic foam dressings into our advanced wound care range, further extending our foam portfolio. The initial response has been positive and sales of all our foam-based dressings have increased 222% at both reported and constant currency to £2.5 million (2015 H1: £0.7 million).  

Sales of other woundcare products were strongly influenced by the stocking patterns of our partners  and declined 6% to £4.6 million (2015 H1: £4.9 million) and by 8% at constant currency.  

 

Following discussions with our OEM partner that is supplied with an exclusive range of collagen products, we have renegotiated the supply agreement from an exclusive to a non-exclusive arrangement, allowing us from 2017 to supply a range of collagen products though our distributors into the EU and through our direct sales force in the UK. In the short term, this may result in some reduction of sales in the OEM business as this partner will no longer be required to meet a minimum amount of sales to maintain exclusivity. In the medium term however, we expect sales in both our Branded Direct and Branded Distributed Business Units to increase as our collagen product portfolio is extended.   

 

Bulk Materials

 

Bulk Materials revenue increased by 66% at reported currency to £2.8 million (2015 H1: £1.7 million) and by 60% at constant currency with sales to our major contract partners performing strongly.

 

This Business Unit provides a key component for both our Branded Direct and OEM Business Unit. The launch of the antimicrobial and atraumatic foam ranges has resulted in a doubling of intercompany sales compared with the first six months of 2015 and has been a contributor to the margin improvement in this Business Unit.

 

Research and Development

 

Our R&D effort is focusing on a number of key projects.

 

We are continuing to extend the applications of tissue adhesives for internal use, including the  development of an open hernia device, as well as improving further the formulations that go into our adhesives.

 

We are working on extending the attributes of our collagens to meet the needs of dental practitioners and oral surgeons, together with making good progress in the development of a range of collagens that include antibiotics.

 

We are also developing a range of surgical dressings and a range of High Performance dressings. We expect to be able to launch both of these ranges in 2017.

 

Operations

 

The launch of the two new foam dressing ranges has required new converting processes to be developed. We have been pleased that we were able to meet the significant volume demands of these new launches, however, the initial efficiencies of these processes have been lower than for our more established ranges and lower than we would expect to obtain on an ongoing basis. We estimate that these operating effects have had a negative impact of around 500 basis points on the operating margins for the OEM business, where most of the sales of these products have been recorded. Changes are currently being made to refine the manufacturing processes to improve our efficiences and we expect to see margin improvement.

 

Investment is being made in the Etten Leur facility to increase our foam manufacturing capacity. Approximately, £0.5 million of capex will be spent in the second half of the year. This is expected to increase capacity by approximately 40%.

 

Quality and Regulatory

 

The FDA conducted its first routine inspection at the Group in June at our Winsford site. We were pleased with the outcome of our first FDA inspection.

 

We are progressing with obtaining approval to sell our collagen products in the US and approval is expected towards the end of 2017.

 

Approval to market our final family of sutures in the US is expected in the second half of 2016. This will complete the approval process for our entire suture range and allow us to sell a comprehensive range of sutures in the US.

 

Registration of LiquiBand^® in China is currently on hold due to changes in the regulatory pathway. Indications are that a full clinical trial in China may be required but as yet the potential scope of this clinical trial is unknown. This will extend the time needed to obtain approval in this region.

 

In 2017, we also expect to start the approval process to potentially allow us to market LiquiBand^® Fix8™ in the US.

 

Acquisitions strategy

 

The Group is actively looking for businesses that meet its acquisition strategy.  During the period, an opportunity was identified and work undertaken to understand the business in more detail. As a result of the outcome of this work, a decision was taken not to proceed with this acquisition. An exceptional charge of £0.4 million has been incurred relating to this activity. The Group continues to review suitable acquisition opportunities.

 

Referendum vote to leave the EU

 

There has been no immediate impact on the Company’s operations following the UK’s referendum vote to leave the European Union other than the currency exchange rates.   

 

Summary and outlook

 

The first half of 2016 has seen good performance by the Group and we are trading in line with current market expectations for profit and, as a result of the positive impact of currency, ahead of market expectations for revenue for the full year. With our increasing portfolio of products, strong partners and the opportunities we see from our innovative R&D pipeline, the Board remains optimistic about our long term prospects and the potential for further growth.

 

Financial Review

 

Summary

 

Revenue increased by 19.7% to £39.2 million (2015 H1: £32.7 million). At constant currency, revenue growth would have been 16.9%.

 

Amortisation of acquired intangible assets was £0.1 million in the six month period (2015 H1: £0.2 million).

 

Comparisons with 2015 are made on a pre-exceptional and pre-amortisation of acquired intangible asset cost basis, as we believe that this provides a more relevant representation of the Group’s trading performance. To aid comparison, the Group’s adjusted income statement is summarised in Table 1 below.

 

Table 1	Six months ended 30 June 2016	Six months ended 30 June 2015
Adjusted Income Statement	£’000	£’000	Change
Revenue	39,153	32,713	19.7%
Gross profit	22,473	19,036	18.1%
Distribution costs	(512)	(408)
Administrative expenses6	(12,879)	(10,715)
Other income	415	319
Adjusted operating profit	9,497	8,232	15.4%
Net finance income / (costs)	2	(31)
Adjusted profit before tax	9,499	8,201	15.8%
Amortisation of acquired intangibles	(122)	(186)
Exceptional items	(361)	–
Profit before tax	9,016	8,015	12.5%
Tax	(1,680)	(1,354)
Profit for the period	7,336	6,661	10.0%
Adjusted earnings per share – basic7	3.74p	3.29p	13.7%
Earnings per share – basic7	3.51p	3.20p	9.7%
Adjusted earnings per share – diluted7	3.68p	3.23p	13.9%
Earnings per share – diluted7	3.46p	3.15p	9.8%

6    Administration expenses exclude exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangible assets

7    see Note 4 Earnings per share for details of calculation

 

The gross margin percentage for the Group was 57.4% (2015 H1: 58.2%). This 80bps reduction in gross margin was mainly as a result of sales mix and initial inefficiencies in the manufacture of our new foam product launches at the Winsford site.

 

Adjusted operating profit increased by 15.4% to £9.5 million (2015 H1: £8.2 million) but the adjusted operating margin decreased by 90bps to 24.3% (2015 H1: 25.2%) partly due to continued investment in sales and marketing as well as the mix and new product manufacturing inefficiencies referred to above.

 

During the six months ended 30 June 2016, the Group incurred exceptional items of £0.4 million relating to an aborted transaction (2015 H1: £nil).

 

The Group generated profit before tax of £9.0 million (2015 H1: £8.0 million) and had net cash of £41.1 million at the half year end (2015 H1: £22.6 million).

 

Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased by 13.9% to 3.68p (2015 H1: 3.23p) and diluted earnings per share increased by 9.8% to 3.46p (2015 H1: 3.15p).

 

The Group has a strong balance sheet enabling financing of further organic growth and appropriate acquisitions.

 

Income Statement

 

The operational performance of the Business Units is shown in Table 2 below. The adjusted profit from operations and the adjusted operating margin are shown after excluding exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.

 

Table 2
Operating result by business segment
Six months ended 30 June 2016			Branded Distributed	Branded Direct	OEM	Bulk Materials
			£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
Revenue			9,632	11,990	14,742	3,7568
Profit from operations			3,374	2,760	2,662	862
Amortisation of acquired intangibles			38	78	6	–
Adjusted profit from operations9			3,412	2,838	2,668	862
Adjusted operating margin9			35.4%	23.7%	18.1%	22.9%
Six months ended 30 June 2015
Revenue			6,411	11,110	13,515	2,1408
Profit from operations			1,640	2,845	3,616	270
Amortisation of acquired intangibles			58	119	9	–
Adjusted profit from operations9			1,698	2,964	3,625	270
Adjusted operating margin9			26.5%	26.7%	26.8%	12.6%

8    Revenue includes intersegment sales. See Note 5

9    Excludes amortisation of acquired intangible assets

 

Expenses relating to exceptional items, non-executive Directors and plc costs are not allocated to Business Units and are included within unallocated expenses.

 

Branded Distributed

Branded Distributed revenues increased by 50.2% to £9.6 million (2015 H1: £6.4 million) and by 45.5% at constant currency, with sales of LiquiBand^® into the US being the main driver of growth.

 

Adjusted operating margin increased by 890 bps to 35.4% (2015 H1: 26.5%) due to the increase in sales while investment in our sales & marketing team to support our partners has continued. R&D expense was 5.0% of revenues (2015 H1: 4.5%) with expenditure in this segment being incurred on projects to improve our formulation and applicators for tissue adhesives, as well as ongoing development of the internal use of tissue adhesives.

 

Branded Direct

Branded Direct revenues increased 7.9% to £12.0 million (2015 H1: £11.1 million) and 5.0% at constant currency, with sales of ActivHeal^® driving revenues in the UK and RESORBA^® brands supporting growth in Germany and Czech Republic.

 

Adjusted operating margin decreased by 300bps to 23.7% (2015 H1: 26.7%), due to investment in our commercial teams. R&D expense in this segment was 2.3% of revenue (2015 H1: 3.1%) on projects to develop improved antibiotic collagens.

 

OEM

OEM revenues increased by 9.1% to £14.7 million (2015 H1: £13.5 million) and 7.7% at constant currency. R&D expense was 4.4% of revenues (2015 H1: 3.6%) with spend being incurred in the development of post surgical dressings and high performance dressings.

 

Adjusted operating margin reduced by 870 bps to 18.1% (2015 H1: 26.8%), mostly as a result of sales mix and the launch of new products  It is also worth noting that some of the benefit in terms of margin resulting from the substantial increase in OEM foam sales is reported in the Bulk Materials Business Unit and is part of the reason for the increase in operating margin in that Business Unit.

 

Bulk Materials

Bulk material revenues, excluding intercompany sales, increased by 66.3% to £2.8 million (2015 H1: £1.7 million) at reported currency and 59.8% at constant currency. The adjusted operating margin increased to 22.9% (2015 H1: 12.6%), resulting from changes in sales mix and benefiting from a substantial increase in intercompany sales to the OEM Business Unit.

 

Geographic breakdown of revenues

The geographic breakdown of Group revenues in 2016 is set out in note 5. Sterling sales, including some European partners, represents the largest currency with significant sales also in Euros and US dollars. The Group’s policy is to use natural hedging where possible and to hedge transactional risk. The Group estimates that a 10% movement in the £:US$ or £:Euro exchange rate would impact Sterling revenues by approximately 3% and 3% respectively and, in the absence of any hedging, this would result in an impact on profit of 2.1% and 0.5% respectively.

 

Net finance income

Net finance income is comprised of finance income £57,000 (2015 H1: £31,000) representing interest received on cash balances less finance costs £55,000 (2015 H1: £62,000) including amortisation of capitalised debt costs.

 

Profit before tax

Profit before tax for the six months was 12.5% higher at £9.0 million (2015 H1: £8.0 million).

 

Taxation

The Group’s effective rate of tax for the six months was 18.6% (2015 H1: 16.9%). This reflects the blend of profits and tax rates in the countries in which the Group operates and incorporates R&D relief, the phased introduction of the patent box scheme and the recognition of previously unrecognised tax losses in the UK. From 2017, the Group will no longer be treated as a SME for tax purposes and will not be able to claim for R&D relief. Instead, an allowance for R&D spend will be given and be treated as grant income. In 2015, R&D relief provided a 1.91% benefit to the Group’s effective tax rate.

 

Profit after tax and earnings per share

Adjusted profit after tax increased by 14.2% to £7.8 million (2015 H1: £6.8 million), resulting in a 13.7% increase in adjusted basic earnings per share to 3.74p (2015 H1: 3.29p) and a 13.9% increase in adjusted diluted earnings per share to 3.68p (2015 H1: 3.23p).

 

Profit after tax increased 10% to £7.3 million (2015 H1: £6.7 million), resulting in a 9.7% increase in basic earnings per share to 3.51p (2015 H1: 3.20p) and an 9.8% increase in diluted earnings per share to 3.46p (2015 H1: 3.15p).

 

 

 

Dividend per share

The Board intends to pay an interim dividend of 0.30p per share on 30 October 2016 to shareholders on the register on 2 October 2016. This is an increase of 20% compared with the first half of 2015.

 

 

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet

 

Table 3 summarises the Group’s cash flows.

 

Table 3	Six months ended 30 June 2016	Six months ended 30 June 2015
Cash Flow	£’000	£’000
Adjusted operating profit (Table 1)	9,497	8,232
Non-cash items	1,993	1,453
Adjusted EBITDA10	11,490	9,685
Working capital movement	(1,730)	(1,740)
Operating cash flow before exceptional items	9,760	7,945
Exceptional items	(361)	–
Operating cash flow after exceptional items	9,399	7,945
Capital expenditure and capitalised R&D	(1,265)	(1,087)
Net Interest income/(expense)	1	(33)
Tax	(933)	(689)
Free cash flow	7,202	6,136
Dividends paid	(1,150)	(999)
Proceeds from share issues	416	267
Exchange gains / (losses)	430	(68)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents	6,898	5,336

10  Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, intangible asset amortisation, share based payments and exceptional items

 

The Group had an operating cash flow before exceptional items of £9.8 million (2015 H1: £7.9 million) and a conversion of adjusted operating profit into free cash flow of 76% (2015 H1: 75%).

 

Working capital increased £1.7 million in line with the growth of the business.  Inventory increased by £1.1 million in the first six months with months of supply being 4.4 (2015 H1: 4.7 months). Trade receivables increased £2.0 million with debtor days at 49 (2015 H1: 47 days). Trade payables increased £1.4 million, excluding the fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts.

 

We have invested £1.3 million in fixed assets, software and capitalised R&D in the first six months (2015 H1: £1.0 million), including the completion of the collagen manufacturing expansion started in 2015. £0.1 million of R&D spend has been capitalised (2015 H1: £0.1 million).

 

Net taxation of £0.9 million was paid which is in line with the Group’s profitability within the tax jurisdictions in which it operates. 

 

The Group paid its final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2015 of £1.2 million on 10 June 2016 (2015 H1: £1.0 million).

 

The Group had free cash flow of £7.2 million in the period (2015 H1: £6.1 million), with a net increase in cash equivalents of £6.9 million (2015 H1: £5.3 million increase).

 

The Group has a five-year, £30 million, multi-currency, revolving credit facility, obtained in December 2014, with an accordion option under which AMS can request up to an additional £20 million on the same terms.  The facility is provided jointly by HSBC and The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC.  It is unsecured on the assets of the Group and is currently undrawn. 

 

At the end of the period, the Group had net cash¹¹ of £41.1 million (2015 H2: net cash¹¹ of £22.6 million). The movement in net cash during the first half of 2016 is reconciled in Table 4 below:

 

Table 4
Movement in net cash11	£’000
Net cash as at 1 January 2016	34,201
Exchange rate impacts	430
Free cash flow	7,202
Dividends paid	(1,150)
Proceeds from share issues	416
Net cash as at 30 June 2015	41,099

11  Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents plus short term investments less financial liabilities and bank loans

 

The Group’s going concern position is fully described in note 12 and the Group had no borrowings in the period.