Blackmores share price goes through the roof

YOU’VE probably bought their products, but you’ll wish you’d nabbed a stake in this Australian company, whose share price tripled in four months.

Vitamin pill. s Blackmores Concentrated Fish Oil

IF YOU haven’t bought their products, you’ve definitely walked past them in the supermarket aisle. But don’t you wish you’d bought a stake in Blackmores?

The company’s share price went through the roof this morning, surging 29 per cent to just over $200 soon after 11am on the back of a major joint venture announcement.

Anyone who tipped $4150 into Blackmores Limited two decades ago, and sold first thing this morning, is now a millionaire.

But who thinks that far ahead? The thing is, even if you bought four months ago it’s likely you’ve tripled your money.

Blackmores shares were worth $58.62 when the ASX closed on April 28 — less than one-third of this morning’s peak.

And those who bought $10,000 worth of shares year ago could be $50,000 ahead.

Onto a winner: Blackmores chief executive Christine Holgate has just brokered a lucrative new deal.

So what’s behind the buying frenzy? Blackmores released its quarterly results this morning and, along with achieving $162.2 million worth of sales and more than doubling its quarterly net profit to $22.6 million, it has unveiled a major new deal that will see it expand into Asia.

The lucrative Chinese market already makes up more than a third of Blackmores’ sales, and almost half of all sales go to Asia.

Now, the company has struck a deal with Bega Cheese Ltd to develop a range of nutritional foods — including baby formula.

“We are aware from our presence in the Asia region that there is significant demand for infant formula,” said Blackmores chief executive Christine Holgate.

“We’re developing the range of Blackmores and Tatura products to ensure we have an offering that meets the highest quality standards, with premium ingredients ... We believe that, with the combination of Blackmores and Bega, were uniquely positioned to support those women unable to breastfeed.”

Liquid gold.

Bega’s subsidiary Tatura already makes infant formula, which has experienced soaring demand since 2008, when melamine contamination saw six babies die and 300,000 fall ill in China.

Some Australian retailers have enforced a three-tin daily limit on purchases to prevent a shortage, as customers began wiping out stock to ship to family overseas, or sell at inflated prices.

Discount pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse recently began offering direct shipping to China in an apparent attempt to circumvent the black market.

China is also hungry for Blackmores’ traditional vitamin and health supplement product range, putting their faith in the company’s reputation as a trusted manufacturer whose ingredients can be accurately tracked to a “clean and green” source.

Blackmores also announced a joint venture with Indonesian healthcare giant Kalbe Farma, another pillar of its Asian expansion.