Animal breeding expert Sygen made a £6m pre-tax surplus last year to June. This was despite a delayed recovery in its key North American pig market. Bottom line profits were off slightly compared with the £7.1m made in 2003, however normalised profits (excluding amortisation and exceptionals) were 18% better at £6.7m. Turnover hit £129.4m, against £132.7m last time. Sygen also finished the financial year with zero debt and £17.8m cash. The great news for shareholders though is that the North American pig market recovery has happened - finance director John Adams says pig prices are now at 'their highest for five or six years', which augurs well for the current year. In only its second year of operations SyAqua, the group's shrimp genetics business and the first step in its move towards a multi-species strategy, was again profitable. SyAqua contributed £200,000 to group profits and this year, the business will enjoy a full year's trading in all three of its markets - Mexico, Brazil and Thailand. Sygen is looking to set up genetic improvement businesses in other species, most likely poultry, in the near future. For the current year, Investec's Ingrid Boon forecasts a normalised profit of £10.6m and earnings of 2.4p a share. Well worth holding.