International patent translation specialist RWS Holdings (RWS) revealed robust full-year figures, driven by US and European companies seeking to protect their intellectual property in the Far East. Moreover, chairman Andrew Brode believes that strong trading momentum has continued into the new financial year.
The core patent translation business saw sales rise 7 per cent in the period £48.4m, boosted by significant client wins in Japan. Indeed, the Japanese business delivered a 42 per cent profit hike, while profits rose 80 per cent in China. That Asian growth should help mitigate against the potential impact of the proposed European Union Patent (EUP) - which was voted through by the European Parliament earlier this month. It aims to simplify applications and reduce the number of languages in which patents need to be filed - potentially bad news for RWS. The group also spent £6.2m on acquisitions, of which £3.7m was for a third of inovia - which develops the web- based patent filing software. It plans to buy the remaining two-thirds next September.
Broker N+1 Singer currently forecasts adjusted pre-tax profit of £18.6m for 2013, giving adjusted EPS of 32.3p - but expects to upgrade those estimates by around 3 per cent (from £17.2m and 31p in 2012).
RWS HOLDINGS (RWS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 536p | MARKET VALUE: | £227m | |
| TOUCH: | 535-570p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 607p | LOW: 410p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 149p* | NET CASH: | £25.1m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 54.1 | 13.7 | 23.5 | 10.4 |
| 2009 | 55.3 | 14.0 | 35.0 | 11.7 |
| 2010 | 60.6 | 13.7 | 23.2 | 13.4 |
| 2011 | 65.4 | 15.6 | 26.2 | 15.4 |
| 2012 | 68.8 | 16.6 | 29.9 | 17.5 |
| % change | +5 | +6 | +14 | +14 |
Ex-div: 23 Jan Payment: 22 Feb *Includes intangible assets of £18m, or 43p a share | ||||
