Trading Statement

Venture Life Group PLC

31 July 2023

 

31 July 2023

VENTURE LIFE GROUP PLC

("Venture Life", "VLG" or the "Group")

Trading Update

Trading on-course to deliver full year results in line with market expectations.

Venture Life (AIM: VLG), a leader in developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the international self-care market, announces a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2023 (the "Period"), ahead of the expected announcement of the Group's interim results on 25 September 2023.

Headlines:

·    Group revenues for the Period of £23.5m, a growth of 24.4% over last year, comprising growth from both the VLG Brands and Customer Brands, including the recent acquisition of HL Healthcare Limited ("HLH"). On a proforma¹ basis revenue performance was 10.4% ahead of H1 2022.

·    The newly acquired Earol product from HLH contributed revenues of £2.3m (H1 2022: £2.2m), a growth of 6.1% over the previous year on a like for like basis.

·    Cash generated from operating activities of £4.6m (H1 2022: £1.8m), an increase of 158% over last year and improved operating cashflow conversion of c.99% (H1 2022: 53%)

·    Group leverage² reduction to 1.4x at 30 June 2023 (31 December 2022: 1.6x)

·    Order book increase of c.30% since end of the previous year, providing strong visibility over second half revenue and in line with management expectations.

·    17 new listings secured with major retailers for Balance Activ, Lift and Earol, including existing and newly developed products.

·    Further progress on digital transformation; online sales were 69% ahead of the previous year at £1.6m (H1 2022: £0.9m) and accounted for 12.3% of VLG brands revenue (H1 2022: 9.7%).

¹ Proforma basis i.e. if the acquisition had been in place for the whole of the prior period.

² Group leverage calculated as net debt (excl. finance leases) and using proforma Adjusted EBITDA³ on a trailing 12-month basis.

³ Adjusted EBITDA for Group leverage is EBITDA after deduction of finance lease costs and before deduction of exceptional items and share based payments.

Group revenues for the period grew by 24.4% to £23.5m and on a proforma¹ basis revenue performance was 10.4% ahead of H1 2022, comprising growth from both the VLG brands and Customer brands. Excluding the newly acquired HLH, revenue performance elsewhere in the Group was 11.4% ahead of the same period last year.

VLG Brands delivered revenues of £12.9m (H1 2022: £10.1m), a growth of 27% over the previous year and accounted for 55% of first half revenues (H1 2022: 53%). VLG Brands include the acquisition of HLH on 30 November 2022 which delivered revenues of £2.4m during the Period (H1 2022: £2.4m). HLH's main product is Earol which contributes c.95% of the sales and achieved revenues of £2.3m in the Period (H1 2022: £2.2m), a growth of 6.1% over the previous year on a like for like basis.

On a proforma¹ basis, revenue from VLG Brands was 3.5% ahead of the same period the previous year; within this portfolio the Balance Activ and Lift brands have continued to perform strongly, achieving revenue growth of 24% and 16% respectively during the period, and revenues from Gelclair were 201% ahead of the same period last year.

Customer Brands delivered revenues of £10.6m in the Period (H1 2022: £8.8m), a growth of 20.3% over the previous year, driven largely by sales of newly developed products to existing customers. These products are developed in house by the Group's R&D team at Biokosmes and related revenues contributed to c.10% of the overall Customer Brands revenue during the period.

Cash and debt

Cash generated from operating activities in the Period was £4.6m (H1 2022: £1.8m), an increase of 158% over last year and operating cashflow conversion improved to c.99% (H1 2022: 53%). Free cash flow was £2.9m higher than the prior period at £3.4m (H1 2022: £0.5m) and has been used to support a gross debt reduction of £3.3m and net debt reduction of £1.2m during the period. As a result, Group leverage² has reduced to 1.4x as at 30 June 2023 (31 December 2022: 1.6x).

Outlook

As seen historically, revenues are weighted towards the second half of the year and these are expected to be weighted more towards the higher margin VLG Brands than in the first half of this year, as supported by the order book. The Group's trading performance to date and the growth in its order book, provide a level of visibility over second half revenue enabling the Board to remain cautiously optimistic that trading for the full year financial performance is on-course to be in line with market expectations.

Jerry Randall, CEO of Venture Life, commented: "I am delighted with performance of the business over this first half, with strong growth contributions in particular from Balance Activ, Lift and Gelclair, in the VLG Brands portfolio, and from the Customer Brands. The acquisitions we made in 2021 & 2022 are now fully integrated and delivering good organic growth, and we will be launching some great newly developed products in the second half of the year and increasing our distribution points in the UK, which will both contribute to the expected stronger revenues in H2. We have delivered excellent cash conversion and seen a meaningful reduction in our debt position, having now paid the full contingent consideration for the acquisition of HLH, and we expect this strong cash generation to continue through the second half, further reducing our net leverage. I send out a big thanks again to all our hard working, dedicated and innovative team across the Group for continuing to grow our business in challenging times."

For further information, please contact:

Venture Life Group PLC                                                                                                    [phone]

Jerry Randall, Chief Executive Officer

Daniel Wells, Chief Financial Officer

Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint Broker)                                                  [phone]

Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume (Corporate Finance)

Michael Johnson (Sales)

Singer Capital Markets (Joint Broker)

Shaun Dobson / Alaina Wong  (Corporate Finance)                                            [phone]

Jonathan Dighe (Sales)

About Venture Life (www.venture-life.com)

Venture Life is an international consumer self-care company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the global self-care market. With operations in the UK, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden, the Group's product portfolio includes some key products such as the UltraDEX and Dentyl oral care product ranges, the Balance Activ range in the area of women's intimate healthcare, the Lift and Glucogel product ranges for hypoglycaemia, Gelclair and Pomi-T for oncology support, Earol for ear wax removal, products for fungal infections and proctology, and dermo-cosmetics for addressing the signs of ageing. Its products are sold in over 90 countries worldwide.

The products, which are typically recommended by pharmacists or healthcare practitioners, are available primarily through pharmacies and grocery multiples. In the UK and The Netherlands these are supplied direct by the company to retailers, elsewhere they are supplied by the Group's international distribution partners. 

Through its two Development & Manufacturing operations in Italy and Sweden, the Group also provides development and manufacturing services to companies in the medical devices and cosmetic sectors.

 

END