Despite cutbacks, Concurrent Technologies is still doing good business selling computer boards to the military, but other sectors - such as industrial - haven't done so well and sales and orders there are down. True, these results are hardly dynamic, yet the order book is in decent shape, the dividend is up and the company remains on course to achieve expectations - leaving the shares still looking attractive.
Concurrent reported strong demand from the telecoms sector, too, and further growth in transport sales. In fact, a double-digit drop in sales was broadly in line with expectations and there appears little concern about revenue from its core defence business. Gross margin grew 230 basis points to 54 per cent and there’s increasing optimism for new markets such as India and South Korea. That said, this is embryonic stuff and extra work in the UK meant exports as a proportion of group sales actually fell, to 72 per cent. A raft of new products launched in the half, including six new Intel-powered computer boards, should drive growth and Concurrent has increased research and development spend again, too.
Prior to these figures, broker Cenkos was forecasting adjusted full-year pre-tax profit of £3.3m with EPS of 4.3p (from £3.3m and 4.5p in 2011) and £3.8m for 2013.
| CONCURRENT TECHNOLOGIES (CNC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 44p | MARKET VALUE: | £31.4m | |
| TOUCH: | 42-46p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 50.5p | Low: 38.5p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.8% | PE RATIO: | 12 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 19p* | NET CASH: | £5m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6.87 | 1.13 | 1.45 | 0.60 |
| 2012 | 6.07 | 1.04 | 1.46 | 0.65 |
| % change | -12 | -8 | +1 | +8 |
Ex-div: 12 Sep Payment: 28 Sep *Includes intangible assets of £5.8m, or 8p a share | ||||
