Acquiring PolymerLatex and selling its pharma division may have made for a messy set of results, but Yule Catto's numbers were impressive nevertheless. Underlying pro-forma sales grew 18 per cent and pre-tax profit on the same basis rose by a quarter to £96m; lower raw material costs and a lag in passing them on offset the impact of customer de-stocking on fourth-quarter volumes. And it's made a "solid" start to 2012.
Bigger than expected cost savings from the PolymerLatex deal – £15m of annual savings already, rising to £25m in 2013 – will help margins, too. Supplying Malaysia's synthetic nitrile glove makers proved especially profitable, and extra capacity should be on stream by the year-end. Europe and North America, the cash generative 'engine room', posted double-digit growth too.
YULE CATTO (YULC) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 228p | MARKET VALUE: | £774.9m | |
TOUCH: | 227-228p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 145p | LOW: 63p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 78p* | NET DEBT: | 60% |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | 0.51 | 34.0 | 11.5 | 6.18 |
2008 | 0.60 | 38.9 | 14.3 | 2.58 |
2009 | 0.54 | 7.14 | 2.60 | nil |
2010 | 0.57 | 54.2 | 20.7 | 2.60 |
2011 | 1.06 | 39.4 | 9.80 | 3.50 |
% change | +86 | -27 | -53 | +14 |
Ex-div: 8 Jun Payment: 6 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £411m, or 121p a share |