- Strong financial performance and balance sheet
- Continued successful strategic implementation
- Ongoing succession planning for the Board, with three new Directors appointed
- Culture and values support our success
Performance and dividend
Both divisions delivered operating profit growth. PIC performed particularly strongly, while ABS benefitted from Phase 3 of the Value Acceleration Programme (‘VAP’). This contributed to adjusted basic earnings per share (‘EPS’) increasing by 34.8% in constant currency to 110.3p (2025: 81.8p). This included £5.6m of milestone payments received from BCA in relation to the formation of our Chinese joint venture, without which adjusted EPS increased by 24.5%.
Management’s focus on cash generation and the receipt of net cash proceeds of £98m from BCA has further reduced the Group’s debt, putting us in a strong position to invest for growth and to return surplus funds to shareholders.
As part of our capital allocation framework, we have reaffirmed our commitment to a progressive dividend policy funded by organic free cash generation. Our aim is to pay out 30-40% of adjusted EPS, with an interim dividend set at 35% of the fullyear dividend for the previous year. In line with this policy, the Board is recommending a final dividend of 24.0p per share (2025: 21.7p). Including the interim dividend of 11.2p per share, this gives a total for the year of 35.2p per share (2025: 32.0p), up 10%. The total dividend equates to 32% of adjusted EPS.
Strategic priorities
As Jorgen Kokke explains in more detail in his statement, we continued to successfully implement our strategic priorities in FY26. The highlights included regulatory approval in Canada to use the gene edit in our EverThrive® PRRSResistant Pig (‘PRP’). While we are getting closer to our goal of commercialisation in North America, we still require approvals in other critical countries and continued work on consumer acceptance. This means the benefits of PRP will not be reflected in our results for two to three years.
The formation of our Chinese joint venture with BCA was a major development. BCA is an excellent partner, as a statebacked and vertically integrated food business, spanning farming through to superstores. The joint venture is committed to using our genetics and management support, and we believe that collaborating with a domestic partner provides the bestpossible route to obtaining the necessary approvals for PRP in China. Genus has a track record of successful joint ventures, notably with Agroceres in Brazil, so we understand how to make them thrive.
These were significant advances for PIC but it is also hugely important that the business has maintained its lead in conventional genetics. Its superior offer allows it to push for market share across the world, including laying the foundations for expansion in Southeast Asia. Increasing PIC’s presence in that region is part of our longer-term strategy and the indications are good, given PIC’s genetics perform well in those countries. A broader geographical presence will also mean a greater potential market for PRP.
ABS has largely concluded the VAP and is now a fitter business, with a structure better aligned to its markets. We will continue to streamline its operations, while focusing on revenue growth through commercial excellence. ABS has had real success with IntelliGen, including a major new contract in India in FY26, as well as with beef-on-dairy genetics. These help to insulate dairy farmers from fluctuating commodity prices, by giving them another income stream.
Our R&D function has done a fantastic job of aligning its programmes with the needs of our businesses. The Board attended an Innovation Day with the R&D teams in June 2026 and saw a fascinating blend of longer-term work, for example in disease resistance, as well as nearer-term focus areas such as speeding up the cycle for genetic improvements in ABS.
The Board
There were three changes to the Board in FY26. As I noted in last year’s report, Andy Russell joined us as CFO in August 2025. He has settled in well and is making a strong contribution.
We also recruited two Non-Executive Directors, Dr Celia Baxter and Dr Bob Reiter, as part of our ongoing succession planning. Celia has deep experience in human resources, which we had identified as a necessary skill for the Board. Bob’s scientific expertise is essential for the Board and highly valuable to our R&D leadership. Importantly, he is based in the US, where our two divisions and R&D are headquartered. We are in the process of recruiting a further Non-Executive Director, who will take on Lysanne Gray’s role as Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee in due course. See the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee reports for more information.
People and culture
Management has continued to embed the Group’s values, led by Jorgen’s consistent focus on our values and events such as our ValuesFest and Values World Cup. The Board regularly sees the values in place during our visits to the Group’s sites, and we gained further evidence of the strength of our culture through the biannual employee survey. More information can be found in Jorgen’s statement and the People section of this report.
We invest in all our people and value their contribution to the Group’s success. On the Board’s behalf, I thank everyone in Genus for their continued hard work in FY26.
"We invest in all our people and value their contribution to the Group’s success."
Looking forward
The Board keeps a close watch on geopolitical issues and how they might affect Genus. While uncertainty has increased in the last 12 months, the Group has demonstrated over many years that it can navigate difficult issues.
The fundamentals of our markets remain strong and new trends, such as the rapid take-up of weight loss medication, are encouraging people towards higher-protein diets. Our continued successful implementation of our strategy and our leadership in elite genetics mean we are confident of making further progress in the coming year.
Iain Ferguson CBE
Chairman