Underlying operating profits climbed 21 per cent to nearly £7m at Regenersis (RGS), which provides testing and repair services to companies such as John Lewis and Samsung. Almost 90 per cent of that £7m stemmed from emerging markets and its advanced-solutions business.
Regenersis continued to expand globally, buying companies such as Digicomp, an India-based repair business that works with Dell and Lenovo. But the star performer was its advanced-solutions unit, which fixes consumers’ set-top boxes remotely and refurbishes broken phones for insurers. Underlying operating profits from the division soared 86 per cent to £2.6m, and finance chief Jog Dhody believes it could account for half of total profits next year.
The company signed contracts worth an annualised £70m during the half-year, and also earned 35 per cent of sales from network operators, up from 12 per cent a year ago. That means it is diversifying away from device manufacturers towards higher-spending telecom businesses. But the gains came at a cost: scaling up its sales team and investing in the advanced-solutions division more than doubled corporate costs, while net debt climbed from £8m to £14m.
Broker Panmure Gordon expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £10.3m, giving EPS of 18p, rising to £12.3m and 21.2p in 2015.
| REGENERSIS (RGS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 355p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 177m | |
| TOUCH: | 352-354p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 381p | LOW: 193p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.9% | PE RATIO: | 47 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 79p* | NET DEBT: | 35% | |
| Half-year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 90.2 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 0.67 |
| 2013 | 99.7 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 1.32 |
| % change | +11 | -50 | -50 | +97 |
Ex-div:14 May Payment:13 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £60.2m, or 121p a share | ||||
