Order delays and a couple of profit warnings made it an eventful 12 months for radio frequency, microwave and semiconductor products company, e2v Technologies (E2V). Adjusted pre-tax profit fell a fifth to £30.8m and customers are still taking time putting pen to paper. But a 36 per cent surge in the order book to £195m should drive modest revenue growth this year and take the group to within a whisker of eliminating debt entirely.
Indeed, e2v slashed net debt during the period by another £20m to just £9.8m. Off-loading non-core assets and running down inventory helped, but business was better in the fourth quarter, too, and there are £130m of orders to fill over the next 12 months - a tenth more than last year. True, sales slumped 30 per cent in Europe and e2v's semiconductor division has been hit by a slowdown in America. Even the Chinese, Russians and Brazilians are taking longer to place orders. But three-quarters of the business is now non-defence work and sales outside Europe generate 57 per cent of the total. If the space imaging business is successful in China that could top 70 per cent, says management. Multi-year orders have already been booked and e2v has just begun making thermal imaging cameras there.
Investec Securities expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £33.4m in 2014, giving adjusted EPS of 11.3p (2013: £30.8m/10.9p).
E2V TECHNOLOGIES (E2V) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 129p | MARKET VALUE: | £279m | |
| TOUCH: | 125-129p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 144p | LOW: 103p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.2% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 70p* | NET DEBT: | 6% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 233 | -28.4 | -21.8 | 2.70 |
| 2010 | 201 | -9.70 | -1.66 | nil |
| 2011 | 229 | 25.8 | 9.14 | 3.60 |
| 2012 | 235 | 32.0 | 11.1 | 4.10 |
| 2013 | 200 | 34.2 | 12.5 | 4.10 |
| % change | -15 | +7 | +13 | - |
Ex-div: 3 Jul Payment: 2 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £81.6m, or 38p per share | ||||
