Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL) posted a 10 per cent rise in underlying pre-tax profit in 2014, although reported profit was held back by a £2.7m repayment of an interest rate swap. Removing this liability allowed the company to restructure its banking facilities with a new £42.5m five-year non-amortising loan, which has reduced net debt from 3.1 to 2.5 times cash profit.
A strengthened balance sheet should allow the company to grow the business and add more centres, in order to drive revenues. A new site is set to launch in Doncaster next month after recent openings in Manchester and Newcastle. And a successful debut in Los Angeles has encouraged management to consider a pipeline of 12 further centres in the US, of which two are currently being acquired.
The most significant development has been off the pitch, though, with the launch of a mobile app that reduces the risk of lost revenue from last-minute cancelled bookings. The app has already been downloaded more than 20,000 times. Management believes the increased digital traffic should lessen the impact of poor weather in the early part of this year, which has dampened trading.
Analysts at N+1 Singer still expect a 5 per cent growth in the dividend this year to 2.1p, alongside adjusted earnings per share of 16.1p and pre-tax profit of £12m.
| GOALS SOCCER CENTRE (GOAL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 229p | MARKET VALUE: | £134m | |
| TOUCH: | 225-233p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 240p | LOW: 207p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1% | PE RATIO: | 26 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 137p | NET DEBT: | 46% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 27.8 | 7.6 | 11.0 | 1.85 |
| 2011 | 30.4 | 9.2 | 14.1 | 1.85 |
| 2012 | 33.0 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 1.85 |
| 2013 | 33.7 | 9.6 | 16.0 | 1.85 |
| 2014 | 34.7 | 6.8 | 8.9 | 2.00 |
| % change | +3 | -29 | -44 | +8 |
Ex-div: 14 May Payment: 5 Jun | ||||
