When Charles Brady became chief executive of Wilmington (WIL) 12 years ago, the professional information and training group earned three-quarters of its revenues from print publishing and owned around 50 trade magazines. Now, as Mr Brady prepares to step down next month, the couple of print publications that remain generate just 4 per cent of Wilmington's sales.
The group has complemented its digital-first strategy with international expansion - overseas sales generated 37 per cent of revenues in the year to the end of June, up from 32 per cent. Wilmington has also benefited from recent regulatory crackdowns in its target industries, such as finance and insurance. That helped deliver a 4 per cent rise in cash profits, once depreciation, currency headwinds and acquisitions are stripped out. Moreover, its two largest divisions - pensions and insurance, and banking and compliance - grew underlying sales by 7 and 14 per cent, respectively.
However, Wilmington's gains were marred by underlying declines at its healthcare segment, where pharmaceutical clients' spending dried up. Moreover, the legal division saw flagging demand for certain training courses, reflecting a relaxation of the rules governing solicitors' ongoing training requirements.
Broker Numis Securities expects pre-tax profit of £18m for 2015, giving EPS of 15.9p (from £16.6m and 14.8p in 2014).
| WILMINGTON (WIL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 218p | MARKET VALUE: | £187m | |
| TOUCH: | 218-223p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 290p | LOW: 185p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 29 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 61p* | NET DEBT: | 6% | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 78.4 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 7.0 |
| 2011 | 83.8 | 6.1 | 5.2 | 7.0 |
| 2012 | 85.3 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 7.0 |
| 2013 | 85.0 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 7.0 |
| 2014 | 90.0 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 7.3 |
| % change | +6 | +68 | +82 | +4 |
Ex-div: 16 Oct Payment: 10 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £106m, or 123p a share | ||||
