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Blackmores (ASX: BKL) has receorded a strong FY18 and a new acquisition has become the cherry on top of its vitamin-rich cake.
Blackmores lifted full-year profit nearly 19 per cent to $70 million on the back of strong demand for its products in Asia.
The vitamins manufacturer also hit a record full year revenue of $601 million, up 9 per cent on the prior year, boosted by a 22 per cent increase in China and 20 per cent growth in the rest of Asia.
The company has also announced its latest acquisition, Impromy's weight management product portfolio, which it has purchased for $9 million.
Impromy is a pharmacy-only consultation-based weight management program that was devloped by Probiotec (ASX: PBP) and the CSIRO.
Blackmores CEO Richard Henfrey says the company is excited to embrace this new product.
"This acquisition supports our strategic priority to drive innovation and leverage expertise in areas of chronic disease, with a program that is evidence-based and has been readily embraced within community pharmacy," says Henfrey.
Henfrey says the company's strong results are the product of a refined group strategy.
"Our focus has been on refining our strategic priorities to capture the significant opportunities for our brands and driving stability within the business to enable sustainable growth," says Henfrey.
"Our results for the year reflect this focus."
Supply constraints affected sales during the year across the Blackmores group, but the company says it has invested in technology and operations to ensure these constraints do not hit the company in the future.
The company looks to be focusing more on its e-commerce relationship with Chinese consumers who are fast becoming a major chunk of revenue for Blackmores.
"Our business in China continues to be predominantly e-commerce sales and Blackmores has strong relationships with the major Chinese platforms," says Henfrey.
"Blackmores' emerging business in Indonesia delivered 77 per cent sales growth compared to prior year and we will continue to invest in this important growth market in response to the encouraging consumer and health care professional support for our brand since launching in September 2016."
The company has declared a fully franked dividend of $1.55, up 15 cents from a year ago.
Shares in Blackmores are up 7.58 per cent to $156.26 per share at 11.03am AEST.
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