Germany wasn't the only winner at the FIFA World Cup. Chime Communications (CHW) delivered 29 projects at the Brazilian event, helping the advertising and sports-marketing group grow its organic operating profit by a quarter. The news sent its shares up 7 per cent.
Chime's sports and entertainment segment posted a 56 per cent rise in like-for-like operating profit to £9.7m and widened its margin by more than a third. Its advertising and marketing division also grew its operating profit by 17 per cent like for like, reflecting strong gains from financial services business Teamspirit and contract wins with Kia Motors and Dockers.
The group increasingly targeted larger clients, causing its customer base to shrink slightly, but boosting average fees per client by 28 per cent to £73,000. Nearly 300 clients paid over £50,000 for Chime's services, compared with 224 in the same period last year.
Chime reduced its reliance on large biennial sporting events with the £44m purchase of US marketer JMI, which focuses primarily on annual motorsports events, and also invested £0.4m in seven start-ups during the half. Organic growth will hinge on the Cricket and Rugby World Cups next year, followed by Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics.
Broker Numis Securities expects full-year pre-tax profit of £37.5m, giving EPS of 26.6p, up from £25m and 19.5p in 2013.
| CHIME COMMUNICATIONS (CHW) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 321p | MARKET VALUE: | £318m | |
| TOUCH: | 321-325p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 377p | LOW: 296p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 182p* | NET DEBT: | 25% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 140 | 0.6 | -3.3 | 2.20 |
| 2014 | 199 | 9.6 | 5.3 | 2.53 |
| % change | +42 | +1,524 | -260 | +15 |
Ex-div: 17 Sep Payment: 10 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £236m, or 238p a share | ||||
