Shares of Dechra Pharmaceuticals Plc, the Northwich, Chesire-based veterinary drugs giant, rose about 7% on Monday after it published results for the year ended June 30, 2020, showing revenue growth of 6.8% to £515.1 million.

Dechra’s pre-tax profit rose about 47% to £40.9 million.

Full year dividend increased 8.5% to 34.29p.

Dechra said trading in the first few weeks of the new financial year has been “encouraging.”

Dechra shares rose about 220p to £33.05 to give the firm a current stock market value of around £3.6 billion.

Dechra CEO Ian Page said: “Performance by country is varied with the COVID-19 effect being particularly prevalent in the UK and France, both of which have underperformed.

“The UK was subject to more practice closures than any other country and also appears to have been affected by wholesalers reducing Brexit contingency stock.

“The UK started to show signs of recovery in June and returned to near normal in July.

“Performance in France showed a marked improvement in June. All other territories performed well in this difficult COVID-19 affected environment …

“Our international expansion strategy continues to deliver growth, especially in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil where we have our own Dechra branded organisations …

“On the whole, the US market has been reasonably robust with veterinary practices offering kerbside and online consultations …”

In his outlook, Page said: “Trading in the first few weeks of the new financial year has been encouraging.

“However, the underlying COVID-19 affected longer term trend cannot yet be ascertained as there is a degree of correction in current sales as markets, such as the UK, return to growth and wholesaler stocks return to more normalised levels.

“The indications at this stage, however, are positive.

“A key area of focus over the coming months will be the sales and marketing of our recently acquired brands, Osurnia and Mirataz, which offer solid growth prospects and strengthen our portfolio.”