Applied Nutrition to withstand tariffs impact, beats guidance with H1 sales

(Sharecast News) - Sports nutrition and wellness brand Applied Nutrition beat its own guidance for first-half sales, and reiterated annual targets with monthly revenues reaching a record high in March. The company, which listed on the stock market last October, also said it doesn't expect to be materially impacted by changing US tariffs.

"The group has a number of options open to it to mitigate impact such as moving production of liquid products currently produced in the UK to being manufactured in the US," Applied Nutrition said in a statement on Monday.

Revenues totalled £47.6m over the six months to 31 January, up 4.8% year-on-year and ahead of the £46m target the company set out at its IPO.

UK operations saw revenue growth of 34% year-on-year to £21.6m, while Europe sales rose 39% to £6.4m, while international revenues fell 21% to £19.6m due to the £5.5m of orders brought forward by customers in the Middle East in the first half of last year.

Adjusted EBITDA fell 15.9% to £13.8m as the adjusted EBITDA margin slumped to 29% from 36.1% previously after adjusting the one-off costs relating to the IPO. The company said the prior year's margins were "atypical" because of low raw material prices.

Looking ahead, Applied Nutrition said it still expects to hit £100m in sales over the full year, bolstered by a record revenue performance in March.

Meanwhile, higher market whey protein prices are not expected to materially impact margins this year given the company's "relatively low exposure to whey protein and carefully managed procurement".

"We are pleased to have announced a positive set of maiden results, ahead of what we said we would do at the time of IPO, with the company delivering strong growth, expanding globally, and driving innovation in our industry," said chief executive Thomas Ryder.

"The interest in our brand since our IPO has reached new heights and we are very grateful for the strong support we have received from our customers, partners and shareholders."