Home shopping and educational supplies company Findel (FDL) is in the third year of a turnaround plan which is starting to bear fruit. Group operating profit in the first six months, excluding exceptional items, totalled £4.5m from a £0.4m loss last year, helped by significant margin improvement, while underlying pre-tax losses fell from £6m to £0.4m. These are solid results given that trading is heavily weighted to the second half.
The Express Gifts and Education businesses, which accounted for 75 per cent of group revenue, did particularly well. Express Gifts, which specialises in personalised items (chief executive Roger Siddle said he recently bought a personalised Superman onesie for a relative) grew sales by 10.7 per cent and made a £3.3m underlying operating profit from a £0.5m loss last year. Education sales jumped 8.2 per cent and operating profit reached £3.6m, from breakeven.
Kleeneze had a tougher time, with sales 3.5 per cent lower, although the rate of decline did slow. Despite business wins and renegotiating legacy contracts, Kitbag's performance disappointed. Demand from fans of some of its major partners dried up, and with the absence of a major sporting event and high fixed costs, sales slumped 6.3 per cent, leading to a £2.9m loss.
Cantor Fitzgerald expects pre-tax profit of £22.5m for the full year, giving EPS of 22.5p (from £14.2m in 2013).
FINDEL (FDL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 256p | MARKET VALUE: | £220m | |
| TOUCH: | 253-259p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 262p | LOW: 99p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 123p* | NET DEBT: | 224% | |
| Half-year to 27 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 232 | -11.9 | -11.7 | NIL |
| 2013 | 244 | -3.01 | -2.92 | NIL |
| % change | +5 | - | - | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £101m or 117p a share | ||||
