Preliminary Results (unaudited) for the Year Ended 31 December 2022

¹ This is a reported number under UK adopted IAS and is after the deduction of amortisation of acquired intangibles amounting to £0.258m in 2022 and £0.232m in 2021

² Leverage is that defined under the bank facility, with net debt at the end of the period divided by the preceding 12 months’ EBITDA, adjusted for the impact of IFRS2 and IFRS16

³ Final dividend is subject to approval at the May 2023 Annual General Meeting

Results highlights

• Record Group revenue of £127.4m, with strong growth across all business units
  • Polyolefin Foams sales up 25% to £70.1m (2021: £56.2m) or 21% in constant currency
  • High-Performance Products (HPP) sales up 29% to £54.4m (2021: £42.3m) or 16% in constant currency
  • MuCell Extrusion sales up 23% to £2.8m (2021: £2.3m) or 13% in constant currency
• Profit margins much improved
  • Gross margin increased 400bps to 30.4%, with operating margin up 280bps to 10.9%
  • Improved mix with faster relative growth in high-margin HPP and price rises implemented successfully in Polyolefin Foams
  • Absorbed £1.9m of continued investment in the ReZorce^® mono-material barrier packaging opportunity
  • Strong cost management and operational execution
  • Profit before tax up 74% to £12.2m, a Group record, with EPS up 129% to 20.61p
• Excellent cash generation
  • 80% increase in cash generated from operations, with free cash flow of £14.0m (2021: £3.9m)
  • Net debt reduced from £34.3m to £27.8m, with year-end leverage ratio down significantly to 1.2x

Strategic progress

• Rapid recovery in Polyolefin Foams margins through price increases demonstrates strength of the product offering, and structural growth prospects exist in this important business unit, underpinned by the megatrends of environment, regulation and demographics and facilitated by the Group’s well-invested global capacity
• Further HPP growth in footwear products, where we have worked closely with our partner to develop more long-term opportunities, good first steps to recovery in aviation and strong signs that T-FIT insulation products are generating increased recognition and interest
• Good progress in developing ReZorce, which offers society a truly circular packaging solution using existing recycling infrastructure

David Stirling, Group CEO, said:

“2023 has started well, with demand for our AZOTE^® polyolefin foam products in line with the previous year but with higher revenue from price increases implemented over the past twelve months. Sales of high-performance products are showing strong growth in the first few months, mainly due to the timing of shipments compared to the prior period. Sales across both businesses continue to benefit from a stronger US dollar. 

“The environment for input costs is less acute, with both energy and polyolefin polymer prices reduced from the peaks seen last year but remaining well above their long-term average. Prices for energy and energy-intensive commodities such as nitrogen remain uncertain, with forward-market pricing at a significant risk premium to spot. We are closely monitoring input costs and our pricing in the polyolefin foams business in particular.

“Whilst uncertainty persists, we currently expect that, for the year as a whole, polyolefin foams volumes will be at a similar level to last year, with more challenging conditions in the UK and continental Europe offset by growth in North America and other geographies. Our High-Performance Products business should see further growth in footwear and continued strong growth in both our ZOTEK^® F and T-FIT^® insulation products. Within our MEL business unit, focus has progressed to commercialisation trials for ReZorce cartons.

“Overall, the Board remains confident about the future prospects for our business”.

For the full report, please click here.