It's all change at Aim-listed software company dotDigital (DOTD). Three and a half years after taking the company public on London's junior market, and after a total of eight years at the group, chief executive Peter Simmonds announced he would step down in favour of non-executive director Simone Barratt. Ms Barratt, previously a senior executive at eDialog (now part of eBay), has assumed the role of deputy chief executive in anticipation of replacing Mr Simmonds no later than October 2015.
The news was released alongside the group's annual results, in which it doubled the final dividend despite a 10 per cent drop in pre-tax profits. Sales grew strongly last year - up by a third to £16.2m - but higher administrative expenses dented the group's profitability. Sales of dotDigital's email marketing software dotmailer grew 33 per cent, driven by high profile new clients Land Securities Group (LAND), Thorntons (THT) and Ladbrokes (LAD), among others. The US also proved to be a strong market for the group's software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, with sales tripling year on year.
Analysts at finnCap expect pre-tax profits of £5.2m for the current financial year, giving EPS of 1.5p.
| DOTDIGITAL (DOTD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 35p | MARKET VALUE: | £98m | |
| TOUCH: | 34-35p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 38p | LOW: 18p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.6% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 5p* | NET CASH: | £9m | |
| Year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | nil |
| 2011 | 9.0 | 3.3 | 1.2 | nil |
| 2012 | 9.5 | 2.4 | 0.8 | nil |
| 2013 | 12.2 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 |
| 2014 | 16.2 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| % change | +33 | -10 | -9 | +100 |
Ex-div: 8 Jan Payment: 30 Jan *Includes £3m of intangible assets, or 1p per share | ||||
