British cleaning products maker McBride has raised its annual profit expectations, thanks to resilient demand for private-label products and new contract wins.
The London-listed owner of brands like Clean N Fresh and Oven Pride has benefitted from price-conscious consumers shifting to private-label products, but geopolitical unrest could create further inflationary and supply chain risks, it said.
Shares in the company, among top gainers across London stocks, were trading at 87.04 pence.
McBride now expects full-year adjusted operating profit to be 10%-15% ahead of its previous internal expectations.
Total volumes grew by 6.4% for the six months ended 31 December, it said, with private-label volumes increasing by 10.1%.
First-Half Highlights
McBride posted an adjusted operating profit of £30.5 million (€35.79 million) for the half-year, compared with a loss of £1.3 million (€1.52 million) in the same period last year.
The company added that its net debt decreased to £145.7 million (€170.57 million) from £166.5 million (€194.81 million) and liquidity increased to £85.0 million (€99.45 million) from £59.3 million (€69.44 million) in June 2023.
Chris Smith, chief executive officer, commented, "McBride has continued with its positive momentum in the first half of this financial year. It is pleasing to see all five divisions continuing to grow on a constant currency basis, supporting our customers with high-quality products to meet the consumer shift to private label.
"This strong performance is a result of the commitment across all the business teams to provide our customers with highest quality, best value products and the strongest innovation options in the sector."
McBride added that demand levels in early months of 2024 were in line with the first half and it expects favourable trends for private-label markets to continue throughout 2024.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM.
