Trilogy more than doubles annual profit on soaring sales, CS purchase

Trilogy International [NZX:TIL], which yesterday said it bought a stake in a Chilean rosehip producer, more than doubled annual profit as sales of its skincare and home fragrance products soared and it benefited from the acquisition of cosmetics and fragrance distributor CS Company.

Net profit climbed to $9.4 million, or 15c a share, in the 12 months ended March 31 from $4.5 million, or 7c, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Revenue jumped 127% to $83.1 million, in line with Trilogy's March guidance.

"As we anticipated, the 2016 financial year has been an incredible year of growth and change for the Trilogy International business, both at an organisational and brand level," chief executive Angela Buglass said. "The August acquisition of leading New Zealand beauty distributor CS&Co added to our overall revenue and profitability and will allow us to further develop our home market of New Zealand as we align our new distribution arm with the skincare division."

Trilogy yesterday said it bought 25% of Chile's Forestal Casino for $US8 million in cash and shares, giving it certainty of supply for an oil used in skincare products. The deal will add to earnings but won't generate a dividend with surplus cash reinvested back into the business.

The board declared a final dividend of 5.45c a share, payable on June 24 with a June 13 record date. That was up from 3.6c in 2015.

Trilogy didn't provide firm earnings guidance for the 2017 year other than to say it expects to outperform the market.

The company's Trilogy and Goodness natural products business was the biggest contributor to earnings as revenue climbed 112% to $34.5 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 116% to $11.5 million. The Ecoya home fragrance unit boosted sales 23% to $20.1 million and boosted earnings 99% to $2.5 million, while the CS distribution division contributed sales of $28.6 million and ebitda of $4.8 million.

Trilogy funded the CS acquisition with bank debt, and had drawn down on $34.8 million of its $55 million facility as at March 31. The company's finance costs rose to $1.8 million in the year from $391,000 in 2015.

The shares last traded at $4.23 and have jumped 46% so far this year, outperforming the 8.3% gain on the S&P/NZX All Index over the same period.

(BusinessDesk)