Bubs shares surge on US supermarket deals, sells fourth planeload of infant formula
The infant formula producer will also have its products available to a special program that supplies about half the US market.
Bubs has signed two new retailer agreements in the US – in a move that will give it more exposure than the total number of babies born in Australia each year – sending shares more than 3.2 per cent higher on Monday
The infant formula company said it had secured a supply agreement with Texas-based supermarket chain H-E-B, which has 340 stores. More than 365,000 babies were born in Texas in 2020, compared with 300,000 in Australia, opening up a potentially lucrative market for Bubs.
It has also gained approval to be distributed on the US government’s Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies about half the US market.
The news sent Bubs shares surging more than 5 per cent to 66c on Monday. It later eased to a close of 65c – an increase of 3.2 per cent, extending Bubs’ share price gains to 40 per cent since late May.
The deals come as it has pre-sold $3m worth of infant formula or 90,000 tins under Operation Fly Formula – an initiative struck with the US government after Bubs gained temporary FDA approval to import infant formula to ease a chronic shortage in the US.
It is the fourth plane load of infant formula Bubs has sent to the US, with the stock set to replenish existing stockists including Walmart, Kroger and ABSCO. Under its agreement with the US government it will provide at least 1.25 million tins of formula – equal to 27.5 million bottles – to the American market in the coming months.
On Monday, Bubs also said it had secured a supply agreement with Meijer, a retailer with stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The company has said it has secured a concession under Australia’s free trade agreement with the United States, reducing tariffs.
Employers struggle to find skilled staff and graduates
Despite record immigration and a softening labour market, most businesses can’t find workers with the right skills, forcing a shift towards new hiring strategies.
Coal workers stood down as mining group’s debts mount
Over 400 workers at Tahmoor Coal in NSW have been stood down and production curtailed, as rumours swirl that Sanjeev Gupta’s debt worries have spread.