The gathering pace of recovery in the housing market has worked wonders for LSL Property Services (LSL). The estate agency division delivered the star performance, with a 19 per cent increase in operating profits to £29.1m.
Residential sales income, excluding London specialist Marsh & Parsons, grew by 10 per cent to £64.1m. And while the rate of expansion in the lettings market slowed a little, income still rose by 9 per cent to £39.2m. The capital's housing market has been much stronger, but a scarcity of properties on the market restricted income growth at Marsh & Parsons to 10 per cent, while the cost burden of new branch openings pushed the London agent's operating profits down 7 per cent to £6.7m.
The surveying side is still nursing the wounds inflicted by Lloyds taking its valuation operation in-house, and transaction volumes in the first quarter dipped by 11 per cent year-on-year. However, trading conditions improved as the year progressed, and after falling 2 per cent in the first half, revenue jumped by 15 per cent in the second. Professional indemnity claims remain a worry, and provisions rose by a further £12m.
Analysts at Numis Securities have upgraded their forecasts for the coming year and now expect underlying pre-tax profits of £42.4m and EPS of 31.9p (from £34m and 25.3p in 2013).
LSL PROPERTY SERVICES (LSL) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 476p | MARKET VALUE: | £496m | |
TOUCH: | 476-477p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 491p | LOW: 299p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 35 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 95p* | NET DEBT: | 26% |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 158 | 16.6 | 11.4 | 5.4 |
2010 | 207 | 36.0 | 33.6 | 8.4 |
2011 | 218 | 17.6 | 12.9 | 8.7 |
2012 | 244 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 9.5 |
2013 | 259 | 17.1 | 13.6 | 10.5 |
% change | +6 | +155 | +100 | +11 |
Ex-div: 26 Mar Payment: 29 Apr *Includes intangible assets of £145m, or 139p a share |