Camellia FY revenues seen higher, pre-tax losses expected to widen

6th Jun 2024 09:26

(Sharecast News) - Tea producer Camellia said on Thursday that annual revenues were expected to grow year-on-year despite reduced tea production expectations in India and further drops in tea prices in both Kenya and Malawi.

However, Camellia said the full-year outlook for its adjusted pre-tax loss for continuing operations had worsened from its previous guidance and was now at between £10.0m-12.0m - a marked widening from last year's £2.5n loss.

The AIM-listed group also noted that it had net cash of £21.7m as of 31 March, as well as investment portfolios with a market value of £38.1m

Besides its troubles with tea production across India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Malawi, Camellia said all other crops were performing in line with previous guidance.

Camellia added that the disposal of its interest in BF&M to Argus Group had been "more complex and the approval process more protracted than expected".

"While we are still confident the sale of our stake will go ahead, further delays in the regulatory approval process mean we now expect completion in the latter part of 2024. The sale of BF&M is expected to result in cash consideration of $100.0m payable to Camellia, before expenses," said Camellia.

As of 1255 BST, Camellia shares were up 0.45% at 4,480.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com