HellermannTyton (HTY), a former subsidiary of Spirent, may not be a household name, but the maker of cable ties and galvanised steel conduits has certainly raised its profile since private equity owner Doughty Hanson floated the business in March. Its share price has surged by more than a third since and the City expects earnings growth to pick up next year.
Strong growth in car production, both in Asia and the US, is the driving force. That industry generated maiden first-half sales of €126.5m (£108m), up 12 per cent at constant currency and almost half the group total. US revenue jumped almost 10 per cent and Asia by 11.5 per cent. There was even modest automotive growth in Europe and sales there rose slightly. But detail on profits is harder to come by. HellermannTyton made an underlying operating profit of €38.7m, up 3 per cent, but also racked-up nearly €10m of one-off costs. Most appear to have been borne by the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) division, easily the company's largest market. Profit there slumped 48 per cent to €8.1m, although we're not told what the underlying performance was. Still, we do know that order intake across the group rose 9 per cent, ahead of sales, and that demand has spilled over into the second half.
JP Morgan Cazenove expects full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of €67m, giving adjusted EPS of 23.3¢ (from €63.8m and 22.8¢ in 2012).
HELLERMANNTYTON (HTY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 270p | MARKET VALUE: | £581.6m | |
| TOUCH: | 264-270p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 275p | Low: 194p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.49% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 139p | NET DEBT: | 42% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢)† |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 261 | 30.8 | 10.6 | na |
| 2013 | 268 | 21.8 | 6.54 | 1.32 |
| % change | +3 | -29 | -38 | - |
Ex-div: 4 Sep Payment: 16 Oct *Includes intangible assets of €252.7m, or 117¢ a share †Pro-rated for the period from admission £1=€1.17 | ||||
