A strong final quarter fired rental equipment company Vp (VP.) past City forecasts, causing a 7 per cent surge in the share price. Encouragingly, all six divisions did well, thanks to housebuilding and big spending on water infrastructure, railways and power transmission. Even construction is picking up, and the long-term prognosis remains positive.
The 16 per cent jump in underlying pre-tax profit easily beat N+1 Singer's forecasts. This momentum has spilled over into the current financial year, says managing director Neil Stothard. That has forced the house broker to upgrade estimates for this year by 6 per cent to £21.1m, giving adjusted EPS of 38.6p (from 38.3p in 2013-14), and by 7 per cent the year after to £22.2m and 41.1p.
A steady uptick in general construction activity helped tool rental unit Hire Station, where underlying operating profit grew by 11 per cent to £4.8m. Supplying small cranes to housebuilders grew profit by a fifth at UK Forks; rail supplier Torrent made a quarter more than the year before; and TPA, whose portable roadways are used by music festivals, Wimbledon and the Ryder Cup, grew profit by a third.
VP (VP.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 685p | MARKET VALUE: | £275m | |
| TOUCH: | 676-685p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 690p | LOW: 350p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 269p* | NET DEBT: | 49% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 134 | 14.3 | 24.7 | 10.80 |
| 2011 | 141 | 12.2 | 23.4 | 10.80 |
| 2012 | 162 | 15.3 | 29.6 | 11.35 |
| 2013 | 167 | 16.4 | 33.6 | 12.25 |
| 2014 | 183 | 18.9 | 39.8 | 14.00 |
| % change | +10 | +15 | +18 | +14 |
Ex-div: 9 Jul Payment: 8 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £41.3m, or 103p a share | ||||
