PureCircle sales down after temporary US import ban

Producer and marketer of stevia sweetening ingredients PureCircle announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to 31 December on Tuesday, with sales of $47.2m, a decrease of 13.4%, as a direct consequence of temporary import restrictions from US Customs and Border Protection.

The London-listed firm said sales outside of the US increased 10%.

Gross margins decreased 15.5% to $19.1m, with the gross margin percentage down 1.2 points to 40.4%.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 33.3% to $9.0m.

Net profit was down $5.7m to a net loss of $0.7m, generating a loss per share of 39 cents.

Net cash from operations decreased 37.2% to $5.4m, and net debt increased 73.8% to $80.1m.

PureCircle also completed its $42.0m production facility expansion in Kuala Lumpur during the period.

“I am particularly proud of the 1H FY17 results where despite being unable to service the US market, we delivered a set of results which demonstrate our resilience as a business and our expanding global footprint,” said group CEO Magomet Malsagov.

“During 1H FY17 all the key industry trends have continued to develop in favour of stevia.

“Regulators and food and beverage companies in all regions are being challenged to find solutions to obesity and diabetes.”

Malsagov said the emergence of sugar taxes in some countries accelerated the search for solutions.

“In 1H FY17 we continued to develop our proprietary product innovation and I am delighted that our expanded production facility is ready to ensure our strong project pipeline.

“With access to all markets available, our strong customer relationships and the increased demand for stevia solutions by the global food and beverage industry, the company is confident of significant medium to long term growth in sales and profitability."