Benchmark Share Discussion Threads

[edmonda] 09/6/2022 15:44

New research report (free access): "Financial update highlights strong outlook"

Benchmark reported a fourth sequential quarter of revenue and AEBITDA profit growth in the January-March (Q2) period, highlighting the continued favourable trends in its three business areas. The group has, so far, been largely unaffected by the post February economic shock and maintains that it continues to have a strong outlook in its important salmon egg and nutrition businesses for the remainder of the year.

Key points to note include:

Q2 results: revenues were up by 29% at £39.3m, reflecting strong growth in the three divisions of Nutrition (+16%), Genetics (+20%) and Health (+390%). These were broadly consistent with or ahead of our expectations.

Safe haven status: Benchmark’s alignment to the aquaculture segment should mean it is largely insulated from economic disruption caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and associated sanctions.

Balance sheet: Benchmark has a strong balance sheet with cash of £46.2m and net debt of £81.4m on 31st March, which is a positive element in the investment case. We expect the company will look to refinance its NOK855m bond in the second half of 2022.

We have also revised our DCF-valuation to reflect forecasts and now assume a higher cost of capital more appropriate to the current inflation/interest rate environment. Our model yields a fair valuation of £478m or 68p/share, versus the current 51p level.

Link to full research report:

[edwardt] 06/6/2022 09:14

Haha - prefer benchmark oil exploration and peace enabling plc this year

[newbold120] 26/5/2022 20:26

Maybe they should change the name to Benchmark AI Ed? Although that is a bit 2020/1....:-)

[edwardt] 26/5/2022 16:41

i like the partnership using ai to detect sea lice. apparently current checking is very manual!

[murdo mcsponge] 26/5/2022 08:44

"The more they're worth the tighter they are!"

[edwardt] 25/5/2022 14:29

probably loose change for trond

[murdo mcsponge] 23/5/2022 18:24

Another insider buy today, and possibly a more indicative one of where The Company is going.

[edwardt] 20/5/2022 15:42

insider buy that is.

[edwardt] 20/5/2022 15:41

ironic how a 35k insider can add more than 35m to bmk's market cap.

[edwardt] 18/5/2022 07:33

Reads pretty well to me. Like the inclusion of clear targets too.

[edmonda] 27/4/2022 11:29

Save the Date! Investor Presentation - 18th May

Benchmark Holdings plc, the aquaculture biotechnology company, will be conducting an investor webinar following publication of their Q2 and Interim results.

The online presentation will be hosted by Trond Williksen, CEO, and Septima Maguire, CFO.

This event will take place at 2.00pm on Wednesday 18th May.

The webinar is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted during the presentation to be addressed at the end.

Sign up here:

[hedgehog 100] 23/3/2022 20:51

It's interesting to note BMK's strong cash position:
"Cash of £50.6m and Liquidity (cash and available facility) of £61.6m as at 21 February 2022"

Considering the buy-&-build strategy employed by BMK, then OTAQ, which has BMK founder Malcolm Pye as a director, could be a potential BMK takeover target.

In fact, at its current share price of just 20.5p OTAQ looks a sitting duck for a BMK takeover attempt, and looks a prefect fit.

Thought I think that it would have to pay at least double or treble OTAQ's current share price to succeed.


"Malcolm Pye
Non Executive Director
Malcolm founded, and from 1999 to 2019 was Chief Executive of, Benchmark Holdings plc ("Benchmark"), the world's leading aquaculture health, nutrition and genetics business. Malcolm has over 35 years' experience in international agribusiness through his various roles at Hillsdown Holdings (then HMTF Group), and through building Benchmark from the initial start-up into a major international aquaculture technology business serving the global salmon, shrimp, tilapia and farmed fish industries. Malcolm focused Benchmark's activities on animal health, breeding and genetics, advanced nutrition and knowledge/technology delivery and led the flotation of Benchmark in 2013, maintaining a lead role in investor engagement."

[edmonda] 09/3/2022 11:38

#BMK Benchmark’s recent Q1 FY22 results highlighted strong operating trends in its three business areas and a positive outlook in key end-markets, especially farmed salmon. The group’s strong position serving the aquaculture industry should, in our view, insulate it from economic shocks resulting from the geo-political situation and thus make for attractive, safe haven investment.

The company has a strong balance sheet and liquidity position following its £20m equity fundraising last year, which we consider will become a more prominent positive element in its investment case. However, Benchmark will have to refinance its NOK855m senior bond, which falls due on in July 2023. Doing so would remove something that may otherwise become an overhang as it approaches the due date.

Benchmark will have to contend with significant input cost inflation and will undoubtedly see some knock-on effects from disruption to its customers’ end markets. Although the Q1 results would ordinarily have supported a modest upgrade, we have decided to maintain our current financial forecasts pending greater clarity. These forecasts support a DCF-based valuation of £583m, equivalent to 83p/share.

[malnu] 25/2/2022 07:16

The reason for this lies with Nomura...principal trade gone wrong when they wound up their prime broking division.

[murdo mcsponge] 23/2/2022 18:26

...and the Market Price falls. Strange creatures some investors.

[edmonda] 23/2/2022 09:34

Benchmark Holdings - Q1 Results - Investor Presentation video (22nd February)

Trond Williksen, CEO, and Septima Maguire, CFO of Benchmark Holdings plc presented the highlights of their financial and operational performance of Q1 to investors.

They discussed insights into the 2022 outlook and answered investor questions around inflationary input costs and utilisation rates of CleanTreat vessels.

The full video presentation is divided into chapters for ease of viewing:
0:00:03 Q1 overview and operational highlights (CEO, Trond Williksen)
0:14:02 Financial Review (Septima Maguire, CFO)
0:24:15 Current trading & outlook (CEO, Trond Williksen)
0:28:13 Question & Answer session (with concluding comments)

Link to video presentation:

[km18] 14/2/2022 12:50

...from a while ago ...

Benchmark Holdings issued a trading update earlier in the week. There is continued good momentum across all business areas, FY21 results are expected to be significantly ahead of market expectations. The Group's Adjusted EBITDA for FY21 is expected to be significantly ahead of the current market consensus which is £15.9m. This suggests that the company could even post positive EPS in FY21 for the first time in 7 years. But valuation is not particularly attractive, PS ratio of near 4 is bottom half for the Pharmaceuticals sector. The company ran at a loss for 7 years in a row between FY14 and FY20, there is no rush to buy here. But BMK is quite an interesting company and perhaps a share to monitor for now....from WealthOracleAM

[edmonda] 03/2/2022 14:33

#BMK - save the date! Benchmark Holdings plc, the aquaculture biotechnology company, will be conducting an investor webinar following publication of their Q1 results. The online presentation will be hosted by Trond Williksen, CEO, and Septima Maguire, CFO.

This event will take place at 12.00pm on Tuesday 22nd February.

Sign up here at the link:

[edmonda] 16/12/2021 07:29

#BMK Benchmark Holdings’ FY21 and particularly its Q4 (July to September) results confirmed the strong recovery in the business, led by its nutrition business, that had been indicated in the October pre-close trading update. An improving outlook in its key shrimp market and good conditions in the salmon and sea bass/bream sectors underpins an upgrade of our financial forecasts for FY22 and beyond.

With £20m raised via a placing, Benchmark is now in a stronger position to invest in capital expansion projects ahead of the refinancing of its NOK bond, which falls due in 2023. A possible share listing in Norway next year may also provide better access to aquaculture-specific investors/capital.

Taken together, these elements boost our overall valuation. We have updated our model and increased our expectations across the board to reflect the current outlook and trends as well as the placing of 33m shares at 62p/share. Our revised estimate of the fair value is now £583m, up from £550m, which is equivalent to 83p/share based on the enlarged share count.

[cordwainer] 03/12/2021 08:36

^ I didn’t get around to checking how much of the debt servicing is capital repayment tho

[tomps2] 30/11/2021 08:13

Benchmark (BMK) full year 2021 results presentation - November 2021

Benchmark’s CEO, Trond Williksen and CFO, Septima Maguire present the full year results for the period ended 30th September 2021.

Watch the video here:

Or listen to the podcast here:

[murdo mcsponge] 29/11/2021 10:53

Nice analogy. Dilution is a bummer, but I think they'll make it count.