Science in Sport to report 'small' full-year loss

Sports nutrition business Science in Sport said on Friday that it now expects to record a "small" underlying loss for the full year despite sales growth being projected to come in "slightly ahead" of expectations.

Science in Sport said the integration of the PhD acquisition had been completed on time, with synergies already being achieved and the growth rate of the brand doubling.

The AIM-listed group also said the SiS brand had continued to grow strongly, in line with its six-year compound annual growth rate of more than 25%.

Along with the "rapid progress" seen throughout 2019, total sales growth for the year was now expected to be slightly ahead of market expectations, with sales momentum into 2020 underpinned by operational progress.

However, SiS was forced to deal with a global whey price increase and also a foreign exchange effect relating to very strong sales of Smart Bars during the current half. As a result, the company warned that the previously expected small underlying earnings profit of £300,000 now looked set to be a small EBITDA loss.

Chief executive Stephen Moon said: "The board remains confident about the outlook for 2020 and beyond as we invest in our growth priorities of e-commerce and international markets.

"Gross margin remains robust, costs are tightly controlled and our cash position is healthy, allowing us to be confident in our long term growth trajectory."

At 0855 GMT, the shares were down 1.8% at 47.16p.