Shares in ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) are in rocketing this morning after the company released its full-year results . At the time of writing, the ALS share price is trading for $11.80, up 8.26%.
ALS' results for the year ending 31 March 2021 show a drop in both revenue and expenses, landing the company in the green.
ALS is a global testing, inspection, and certification company. It works within a number of sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and construction.
Let's take a look at the results released by ALS this morning.
Full year results
For the year ending 31 March 2021, ALS recorded earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $421.1 million. That's 25% more than last year's EBITDA of $326.1 million.
ALS also announced a fully franked interim dividend of 8.5 cents per share and a final, 70% franked, dividend of 14.6 cents. Shareholders will have their dividend distributed on 5 July.
The year saw a drop in both revenue and expenses for ALS. The company's revenue was $92.5 million less than the previous comparable period – it brought in around $1.76 billion. ALS said the fall in revenue was mainly due to the Australian dollar gaining value against other currencies.
ALS' expenses for the period came to around $1.37 billion, down from approximately $1.53 billion it forked out through the previous 12-months.
Combined, its revenue and expenses saw ALS finish the year with a $174.1 million profit.
Its earnings per share through the period was 35.78 cents – 35% better than last year.
ALS now has $611.1 million worth of assets, including $168.6 million of cash in the bank.
The company currently has $243.6 million in bills that need to be paid, as well as holding a group net debt of $613.6 million. It's spent the last 12 months paying off a substantial portion of that debt – $186.5 million worth.
ALS also refinanced it debt earlier this month. Now, it uses a range of "geographically diverse" financial institutions to hold its multi-currency debt facilities.
Finally, ALS stated it's committed to repaying COVID-19 related subsidies given to it from governments in countries where such payments exist.
Commentary from management
ALS' chair Bruce Phillips commented on the company's results, saying:
This is a very strong performance given the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The swift actions from management to align the cost base with client demand and strengthen the balance sheet prepared the Group well to capitalise on the improved trading conditions in the second half of the year and advance our strategic objectives.
ALS share price snapshot
The ALS share price is having a great year so far on the ASX.
Currently, it's gained 11.45% year to date. It's also 54.61% higher than it was this time last year.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $5.2 billion, with approximately 482 million shares outstanding.
