Half Year Trading Update

RNS Number : 5674L

Science in Sport PLC

20 July 2017

 

For immediate release	20 July 2017

SCIENCE IN SPORT PLC

("SiS" or the "Company")

Half Year Trading Update

Science in Sport plc (AIM: SIS), a leading sports nutrition company that develops, manufactures and markets sports nutrition products for professional athletes and sports enthusiasts, is pleased to announce the following pre-close trading update ahead of its financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2017.

The Board is pleased to report another period of strong sales increases, and significant progress in execution of the Company's growth strategy.

Sales increased 28% to £8.27 million in the six months to 30 June 2017 compared with the same period for the previous year (H1 2016: £6.48 million). The Company's e-commerce platform delivered growth of 78% across all markets, whilst there was also growth in all retail channels, which is particularly pleasing given tough trading conditions. Additionally the Company has increased investment in its US and Italian businesses and they are trading in line with expectations, as is the Australian business.

The Company increased its database of customers on its own e-commerce platform by 38% in the half year and all related conversion and trading metrics are in line with expectations. The science and innovation pipeline is healthy and revenues are expected to accelerate in the second half of the year, with a WHEY20 relaunch in July 2017, and both a premium recovery product and a novel immunity product to be launched in August 2017.

Costs remain tightly controlled, enabling the pace of investment into international markets and systems to increase in line with the growth strategy. The Company remains in a strong financial position with over £3.9m of net cash, leaving it well placed to exploit further growth opportunities as they arise. The Board remains confident of the outlook for the full year and beyond.

SiS intends to issue its half year results on Thursday 21 September 2017.

Stephen Moon, Science in Sport's CEO said: "We have had a strong start to the year in a difficult market, and have made very good progress, particularly when many of our competitors continue to face growth challenges.

"We have invested heavily in international markets and increased our investment to capitalise on opportunities we are seeing. We continue to invest in all aspects of our e-commerce business and that is reflected in the high growth delivered. We have good momentum and together with our healthy innovation pipeline, we expect to have a strong second half."

This announcement contains inside information

For further information:

Science in Sport PLC		[phone]
Stephen Moon, CEO
Elizabeth Lake, Finance Director
Cenkos Securities - NOMAD and Broker		[phone]
Bobbie Hilliam
Yellow Jersey PR - Financial PR
Felicity Winkles		[phone]
Harriet Jackson		[phone]

Notes for editors

About Science in Sport plc

Science in Sport plc is a leading sports nutrition company that develops, manufactures and markets sports nutrition products for professional athletes and sports enthusiasts. SiS is a strong brand in the elite athlete community - in the 2016 Rio Olympics, 34 medal-winning athletes or teams used SiS products (compared with 24 in 2012).

The SiS core product ranges include: SiS GO, comprising energy powders, isotonic gels, energy bars and hydration tablets; SiS REGO, including protein-based recovery powders and bars; and SIS Protein, products specifically designed to contribute to athletes' lean muscle mass growth and maintenance. SiS products are sold in a range of retail channels, including specialist sport retailers, major grocers, high street retailers and e-commerce websites.

SiS is currently the official sports nutrition supplier to professional cycling team Team SKY, British Cycling, USA Cycling, Cycling Australia and British triathlon. In addition, Olympians Sir Chris Hoy MBE, and Katarina Johnson-Thompson are Brand Ambassadors and Mark Cavendish MBE is an Elite Sports Consultant to the brand.

SiS was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Hatton Garden, London. Its manufacturing facility is in Nelson, Lancashire.

SiS shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SIS.

For further information, please visit www.scienceinsport.com

 

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