Shares in beauty and skincare business BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX) have climbed 4 per cent in morning trade to $5.42 after the business announced it has inked a deal to distribute its products from the stores of UK pharmaceutical market leader Boots.
BWX's most popular brands are its Sukin natural skin and hair care moisturisers, detoxifiers and cleansing scrubs that do not contain the harsh chemicals commonly found in other commercial beauty products.
The deal to distribute its products with Boots in the UK follows soon after the announcement of another distribution agreement with major UK pharmaceutical retailer Holland and Barrett. Moreover, the company is also moving into the giant Chinese market via export agreements with partners to supply the key China-based e-commerce platforms of JD.com and Tmall.
The company's domestic business is already growing strongly with total revenues up 26 per cent to $27.6 million for the six-month period ending December 31 2016. Earnings were up 53% to $9.5 million for the period and the stock has rocketed more than 130 per cent since its November 2015 initial public offer.
The company has minimal debt and is growing strongly within a fast-expanding natural skincare market. It has guided for a full year net profit of $12.4 million, which is small compared to a market value of around $480 million. However, this looks a high-quality company given it has just signed up the UK's leading pharmaceutical distributor on an initial basis with plenty of opportunity to deliver further on a global scale. BWX Ltd looks a growing small cap for the top of every investor's watch list.
Other healthcare and organic foodstuffs retailers like Freedom Foods Group Ltd (ASX: FNP) and Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) have enjoyed a stellar 12 months and the sector remains hot due to the popularity of healthy lifestyles amongst a large section of global consumers with growing disposable incomes.
