Benchmark Holdings’ quarterly results disappoint markets

AIM-listed veterinary service group Benchmark Holdings (LON:BMK) saw its share price drop by 9.80% to 34.50p (as of 15:40 GMT) after posting results for the three months ended 31st December. Revenues for the period were down by 15.5% as the advanced nutrition division struggled.

Executive Chairman Peter George commented: “As expected, our first quarter saw a continuation of the trends reported at year end, with weak shrimp and Mediterranean seabass/bream markets affecting Advanced Nutrition and outweighing a good performance in Genetics.

“So far the impact from coronavirus has been minimal but we remain cautious given our exposure to the Asian end markets. “

“The submission of our regulatory dossier for BMK08, our novel sea lice treatment is a significant milestone. Following the recent fundraise we are in a strong financial position to prepare for the commercial launch.”

“We remain on track to complete our planned disposals in 2020 and are accelerating our restructuring and cost savings programme which will help us offset the ongoing adverse conditions in Advanced Nutrition and deliver on expectations for the full year“.