Comvita says it’s on track to deliver increased annual earnings as its turnaround plan continues to blossom and it sails through disruptions in key Chinese markets.
The honey products maker affirmed guidance for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) to be between $27 million and $30m in the 12 months ending June 30.
That’s up from $25.5m a year earlier and the miserly $4.2m of the June 2020 year when it embarked on a major restructuring to staunch earlier losses.
Comvita says its unaudited operating profit rose 29% in the 10 months ended April 30 from the same period a year earlier, with ebitda tracking at $23.9m.
The company says it expects supply chain disruption resulting from mainland China’s lockdowns to be manageable, and that underlying demand in Hong Kong is back to pre-covid levels.
“We are really pleased with the progress we are making despite material supply disruption in China and around the world,” chief executive David Banfield said in a statement.
“Our ability to mitigate supply chain disruption and offset inflationary pressure proves that we are on the right track.”
The company says it’s facing modest inflationary pressures that aren’t yet affecting its performance. It says it is confident it can pass on those cost pressures to customers if they happen.
The shares rose 0.6% to $3.17 in early trading on the NZX, outperforming the 0.4% decline on the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index.
