Utilitywise (UTW) has spent the past six months capitalising on low energy prices. The group, which helps businesses reduce their energy bills, saw its revenues rise substantially as existing customers moved to lock in cheaper rates for longer. That did leave its pipeline of secured future revenue slightly lower at £23.5m at the period-end, but this had risen to £26m by the end of March.
The group enjoyed strong growth in both its divisions, with total cash profits up £2.3m to £7.7m. The enterprise division, which caters to smaller businesses, accounted for the lion's share of this growth, as customer numbers grew in a large and fragmented market. The group upped its energy consultant headcount by nearly a third to 449 to drive sales further. Growth in its corporate division, which serves the much more mature market for major companies, is being driven by transferring accounts over from the enterprise arm.
As part of its aim to expand the range of services it offers to customers - particularly corporate accounts - the group also announced it had acquired energy monitoring and control business T-mac Technologies. Chief executive Geoff Thompson said T-mac's services would in the medium term be sold to Utilitywise's existing customer base, before eventually being offered as a standalone service.
Broker FinnCap expects adjusted EPS of 17.1p this year, up from 13.4p in 2014.
UTILITYWISE (UTW) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 217p | MARKET VALUE: | £162m | |
| TOUCH: | 217-222p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 370p | LOW: 194p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.1% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 53p* | NET CASH: | £1.6m | |
| Half-year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 20.9 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| 2015 | 29.8 | 6.4 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| % change | +43 | +60 | +43 | +55 |
Ex-div: 21 May Payment: 20 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £21.4m, or 29p a share | ||||
