Olympic Gold Spurs Drink Maker Provexis: London Mover

(Corrects loss per share figure in eighth paragraph of story published on Aug. 6.)

Provexis Plc (PXS), the maker of gel sports drinks favored by tennis star Andy Murray, surged 30 percent after the Scotsman was crowned Olympic tennis champion.

The sports-nutrition company said in May it was expecting a boost during the Summer Olympics after it received informal backing from Murray, who asked Windsor, England-based Provexis for a supply before the Australian Open in January. Olympian Rebecca Romero, who won a gold in cycling in 2008 and a silver medal in rowing in 2004, is an official promoter.

Provexis rose by 0.45 pence to 1.95 pence today in London, the biggest gain for the stock in more than eight months. It was the second-biggest increase among stocks on the FTSE AIM All- Share Index.

Chief Executive Officer Stephen Moon, a former GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) executive, said in a May interview that Provexis has a “powerful niche brand” that can serve “elite athletes” better than mass-market leaders, which include PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)’s Gatorade and Glaxo’s Lucozade. Provexis products include Science in Sport gel drinks, powders and bars.

A Mail on Sunday columnist wrote yesterday that the company’s performance “should pick up significantly” as it enters more supermarkets.

The company says that drinking its 60-milliliter packets of Go gels can help athletes maintain endurance, prevent fatigue and aid recovery. The products include versions with caffeine, nitrates to increase stamina or choline to help the body derive energy from fat.

Growth Market

The sports and energy drink market gained 14 percent last year to $41.5 billion, according to Euromonitor International. Provexis may benefit from the Olympic Games encouraging more people to participate in sports, it said in a statement last week. The company also said it aims to obtain patent protection for its technologies.

Provexis shares fell 19 percent on July 31 after the company reported that a restructuring led to an annual loss of 0.28 pence per share. Revenue in the 12 months ended March 31 rose to 3.48 million pounds ($5.42 million) from 50,000 pounds.

Today’s advance gave the company a market value of 29 million pounds. More than 43 million of the company’s shares were traded, compared with a daily average of 4.4 million this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sofia Horta e Costa in London at shortaecosta@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Risser at drisser@bloomberg.net