Training and publishing specialist
Increased regulation in the banking business is boosting demand for compliance training and revenue there rose 9 per cent to £8.7m, with divisional profits having jumped 25 per cent to £2.1m. Meanwhile, the pensions and insurance operation grew profits 17 per cent to £2.89m, helped by international demand. And while the healthcare business saw revenues fall 8 per cent to £6m as lower-margin work was cut, profits here rose 9 per cent to £1.3m. Disposals did push the legal side's revenues down 9 per cent to £9.5m, but profits here grew from £409,000 to £567,000.
Print revenues have now been reduced to just 2 per cent of the group total and Wilmington further improved its digital presence with this February's £5.6m purchase of NHiS, a data provider to the healthcare sector.
Broker Numis Securities expects full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £14.3m, giving EPS of 12.8p (2012: £13.2m/11.5p).
| WILMINGTON (WIL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 160p | MARKET VALUE: | £136m | |
| TOUCH: | 157-162p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 168p | LOW: 82p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.4% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 64p* | NET DEBT: | 62% | |
IC VIEW
There's a decent yield and Wilmington's transformation now leaves the group looking well placed. But that good news has also helped push the shares up 95 per cent since mid-July and they now trade on a not so cheap 13 times forecast earnings - that leaves further near-term upside looking hard to spot. Hold.
Last IC view: Hold, 114p, 18 September 2012
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