They say that London cabbies are a good barometer of what will happen, and they've clearly been keeping their hands in their pockets. Comparisons are clouded by the change in year end, but Manganese Bronze's headline numbers show a turnaround from operating profits of £5.6m to losses of £5.4m after sales of its TX4 taxi dropped by 38 per cent last year on a like-for-like basis. On top of that, a recall of TX4s to deal with an under-bonnet fire problem cost £3.8m while write-offs and cost cutting measures cost another £4.3m in exceptional charges.
The good news is that the Chinese joint venture SLTI went into commercial production in January. This will open up new markets and give some protection if parts suppliers are driven out of business by the global slump. By the year-end a third of the parts that go into UK made TX4s will be sourced in China - and will be 50 per cent cheaper too. There's been a further fall in sales in the first two months of 2008, so house broker Collins Stewart expects break-even this year.
| ORD PRICE: | 59p | MARKET VALUE: | £14.8m | |
| TOUCH: | 57-60p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 543p | LOW: 48p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.8% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 107p | NET DEBT: | 27% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007* | 144 | 4.9 | 15.9 | 7.25 |
| 2008 | 77 | -14.2 | -49.3 | 2.25^ |
| % change** | -24 | - | - | -69 |
*17 Months **Annualised ^Interim dividend only | ||||
