From Charles Taylor's (CTR) array of insurance-related operations, its was the core adjusting services unit that delivered the weakest performance and operating profit there slumped to £1.5m at the half-year stage (in constant currencies) from £3.6m. But that was only because of a benign claims environment - Munich Re, for example, reckons that claims from natural catastrophes are a third below their 10-year average.
Management is actually positioning the group to take advantage of an inevitable return to more normal claims conditions by expanding the branch network, with offices opening in Brazil and Saudi Arabia. It has also beefed up its operations in Sydney and Singapore with more senior staff. Moreover, and while the bigger and more lucrative claims were absent, Charles Taylor still managed to secure a decent flow of new business at the adjusting services unit.
At the management services side, meanwhile, the group manages the Standard Club, Signal Mutual and Scala operations. These provide protection and indemnity insurance for 10 per cent of world shipping, as well as compensation schemes for marine workers. Revenue there grew 9 per cent to £20.8m, lifting divisional operating profit by nearly a half to £3.2m.
Prior to these figures, broker Peel Hunt was forecasting full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £10.5m, giving EPS of 20.8p (from £9.6m and 19.2p in 2013).
| CHARLES TAYLOR (CTR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 225p | MARKET VALUE: | £96m | |
| TOUCH: | 225-235p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 287p | LOW: 183p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 85p* | NET DEBT: | 38% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 56.1 | 4.1 | 8.2 | 3.25 |
| 2014 | 56.8 | 4.1 | 8.8 | 3.25 |
| % change | +1 | - | +7 | - |
Ex-div: 16 Oct Payment: 28 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £55m, or 128p a share | ||||
