Shares in Applied Nutrition (LON:APN) muscled their way to an all-time high after the sports nutrition brand delivered another FY26 upgrade.
Investors welcomed an earnings-enhancing US acquisition from Applied Nutrition. And the company also announced a new licensing agreement with US snacks giant Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ). Crucially, this exciting deal opens doors with Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) and GNC.
Profits bulking up
For FY26, the protein powders-to-supplements maker now expects to deliver revenue of around £148 million. That is ahead of the £140.3 million consensus estimate and implies almost 40% year-on-year growth. Following the positive news, Panmure Liberum upgraded its FY26 pre-tax profit forecast by 6% to £39.7 million.
‘Trading in the current financial year to date remains strong with continued momentum across the group,’ said Applied Nutrition.
The company also announced the acquisition of US sports nutrition manufacturer Nutrablend for $16 million, or roughly £12 million.
Earnings-enhancing deal
The acquired assets include a manufacturing and warehouse facility in Buffalo, New York, as well as Nutrablend’s Basic Supplements and GR8 Lifestyle brands. Expected to be earnings enhancing in FY27, the deal boosts Applied Nutrition’s US production capacity and brings cross-selling opportunities.
As if that weren’t enough, Applied Nutrition has inked a new licensing agreement with Mondelez. This will see the FTSE 250 company develop and make sports nutrition products under the Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish brands for the US and Canadian markets. The range will initially be stocked in 2,200 Walmart stores and 1,300 GNC corporate stores from August 2026.
Riding high
CEO Thomas Ryder said: ‘The partnership with Mondelez International on the Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish brands brings two more globally recognised names into our portfolio.
‘This agreement represents a significant endorsement of the group’s capabilities, underlines the strength of our execution and shows our ability to deliver new, vibrant products to market through our new product development engine.’
Ryder added: ‘Demand across our markets shows no sign of abating and we are well positioned to deliver on what consumers need for their health and wellness journey.’
We are fans of Applied Nutrition. This is a high growth business whose high margins are holding up despite elevated whey and other costs.
Sharesify flagged the group’s international growth potential in our recent small caps feature (see below). What makes the latest upgrade even more impressive is that Applied Nutrition was impacted negatively by the Middle East conflict. This suggests that underlying momentum has been much stronger-than-expected.
The acquired US facility has capacity to do up to $300 million of revenue. Furthermore, the flavour collaboration with Mondelez is an exciting opportunity to bring Applied Nutrition supplements to a broader audience.
As Panmure Liberum points out: ‘This opportunity could scale the USA business rapidly but maybe more importantly prove a very cost effective and timely way to build brand presence in North America.’
Read the press release here: https://www.appliednutritionplc.com/results-reports-and-presentations/
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