Aquaculture group Benchmark Holdings PLC (LON:BMK) expects heavy investment in new product development to deliver strong returns over the next eighteen months.
Demand for disease and sea lice resistant salmon eggs had already meant a good start to trade in 2019 said Malcolm Pye, chief executive.
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In 2018, revenues rose by 13% to £151.5mln while underlying profits jumped by 68% to £17mln as gross margins rose four percentage points.
Benchmark has also spent heavily on new aquaculture vaccines and probiotics. R&D spending was £19.4mln in 2018, of which £12mln went through the profit and loss statement.
"The growth drivers for our business remain strong, with the increasing need for solutions that improve productivity in the growing aquaculture sector to support sustainable food production meaning that the areas of the market we address are growing considerably faster than the overall aquaculture market,” said Pye.
Impairments and depreciation meant a statutory loss of £13.7mln (£8.1mln).