Flying in the face of currency shifts and an uncertain global outlook, corporate information provider Progressive Digital Media (PRO) drove healthy profits last year, largely due to strong business intelligence sales.
Revenues from that division jumped 12 per cent year on year to £33.8m. Overall, Progressive's sales in the UK and the rest of the world rose 8 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, to £19m and £18m, and even troubled Europe showed a 3 per cent gain to £20.5m. Importantly, the company's sales growth may well continue, as it plans to expand its presence in the Americas and Asia Pacific this year.
It wasn't all good news, though, as sales at Progressive's events and marketing segment slipped to £23.5m. The company's EPS also suffered from a sharp rise in income tax to £2.1m, compared with a credit of close to £500,000 last year. Broker N+1 Singer expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £11.9m this year, giving EPS of 11p, rising to £15.9m and 14.7p in 2015 (from £9.6m and 9p last year).
| PROGRESSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA (PRO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 263p | MARKET VALUE: | £196m | |
| TOUCH: | 255-270p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 263p | LOW: 210p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 39 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 43p* | NET CASH: | £8.3m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 37.1 | -3.0 | -0.6 | nil |
| 2010 | 48.0 | -4.6 | -1.0 | nil |
| 2011 (restated) | 50.4 | 1.4 | 0.4 | nil |
| 2012 (restated) | 53.9 | 4.3 | 7.1 | nil |
| 2013 | 57.3 | 7.1 | 6.7 | nil |
| % change | +6 | +66 | -5 | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £24.8m, or 33p a share | ||||
