It's been an outstanding start to listed life for baby formula producer Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL), with the company continuing to please investors with its first interim profit report since the group's initial public offering (IPO) in August 2014.
Indeed the stock has been one of the very best performers on the ASX. Having floated at $1, the shares hit a new all-time high of $2.21 during the trading session on Wednesday. That's an impressive return in less than seven months and far outstrips the 7% return from the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
Here are the key numbers from the profit release:
- Revenue soared 141% to $58.3 million
- Net profit after tax jumped 137% to $3.2 million
- Earnings per share (EPS) were 3.6 cents per share
Buy, Hold, or Sell?
The Bellamy's brand holds around 14% of the domestic retail formula market and is growing its presence within major retailers, while also expanding into the USA and Asia including China and Singapore.
Management has provided guidance that the group is positioned to achieve a result in the second half that is consistent with the first half which suggests a profit of around $6.4 million. Back in December the company provided updated guidance that it expected to exceed prospectus forecasts for NPAT by 20%, implying a full year result of $6 million.
Effectively, it appears expectations have increased further. With the company now boasting a market capitalisation of around $209 million, investors purchasing the stock today are certainly paying up on the expectation of significant future growth.
