Winning new business in Germany is proving difficult for Ricardo (RCDO), but making over 1,500 engines for McLaren supercars and building Foxhound vehicles for the British army supercharged sales of performance products. That nudged full-year operating profit up 3 per cent to a better than expected £18.6m. There's plenty of interest from US and Asian car companies, too, and more defence work is in the pipeline.
Indeed, Ricardo's order book is a healthy £107m. Helping the US military design a new amphibious vehicle is worth $28m (£17m) over three years and providing it with complex procurement software is worth a few million more. Getting the Ministry of Defence to follow suit would prove lucrative - there's already talk it might order another 25 Foxhounds. And tighter emissions legislation and growing interest in fuel efficiency are driving orders for smaller European-style engines from the likes of Ford, GM and Chrysler. Crucially, supplying gear boxes for offshore wind farms in Europe and the US, and work with rail companies, is also growing. That now represents 10 per cent of the business from nothing a few years ago, and provides valuable diversification.
Broker Investec Securities expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £18.7m for 2013, giving adjusted EPS of 29.9p (from £17.6m and 29p in 2012).
RICARDO (RCDO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 360p | MARKET VALUE: | £186.5m | |
| TOUCH: | 358-369p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 387p | LOW: 303p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.4% | PE RATIO: | 12 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE | 173p* | NET CASH: | £7.9m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 198 | 14.7 | 24.2 | 10.6 |
| 2009 | 179 | 15.7 | 28.8 | 10.7 |
| 2010 | 163 | 10.8 | 20.1 | 10.7 |
| 2011 | 197 | 15.4 | 30.0 | 11.5 |
| 2012 | 197 | 17.6 | 29.3 | 12.4 |
| % change | - | +14 | -2 | +8 |
Ex-div: 17 Oct Payment: 20 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £22.1m, or 43p a share | ||||
