Shares in PR specialist Huntsworth (HNT) soared 17 per cent on the day these half-year results appeared - they included news that Lord Chadlington, the group's 72-year-old chief executive, intends to step down once a successor is found. Still, the group's operating profit slumped by nearly a quarter from a year earlier, reflecting stunted demand in Europe
Huntsworth has tried cutting its reliance on the UK and Europe - where it generates nearly 70 per cent of its PR revenues - through digital investments and global expansion. It invested £2.4m in the last half, or over four-fifths of its planned investment budget for this year. That helped grow like-for-like digital revenues by 18 per cent and to maintain sales growth of 5 per cent outside of Europe.
Nevertheless, European exposure pushed like-for-like revenues down 8 per cent at both its Citigate and Red divisions, while Grayling's operating margin dropped 5.6 percentage points to 7.9 per cent. Still, PR agency Huntsworth Health saw underlying sales climb 7 per cent to over £29m, reflecting digital gains and account wins with three of the top 15 global pharmaceutical companies.
Huntsworth's listless recovery prompted broker Numis Securities to slash its full-year forecasts by 15 per cent and it now expects pre-tax profit of £17m, giving EPS of 4p (from £20.1m and 5.6p in 2013).
| HUNTSWORTH (HNT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 49p | MARKET VALUE: | £159m | |
| TOUCH: | 46-49p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 72p | LOW: 38p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 7.1% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 77p* | NET DEBT: | 14% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 107 | 8.3 | 2.6 | 1 |
| 2014 | 98 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1 |
| % change | -8 | -24 | -42 | - |
Ex-div: 1 Oct Payment: 31 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £291m, or 90p a share | ||||
