It was worrying to see half-year results released to the market on a Monday afternoon and a full two days early, and entu UK (ENTU) directors had reason to feel a tad panicky. They werew advised to publish figures for the six months to 30 April two days early in a bid to stem the last month's share price volatility.
Importantly, entu says it will not be materially affected by last month's EU ruling against the VAT subsidies for energy efficient products in the UK. Entu's shares fell sharply on the news that Flowgroup (FLOW) - whose boilers entu installs - was reliant on a lower VAT rate, although entu already applies the full 20 per cent charge to the "large majority" of its products.
Falls in revenue and pre-tax profit were blamed on seasonality, although declining revenues from energy generation and savings products are of greater concern, though the company expects better second half trading and has recently won a £4.5m contract with a European procurement organisation to supply solar panels. A 2.67p interim dividend is payable on 28 August in line with the full-year forecast dividend of 8p.
Prior to these numbers, broker Zeus Capital was forecasting full-year pre-tax profit of £11.5m and EPS of 13.8p.
ENTU UK (ENTU) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 106p | MARKET VALUE: | £73.7m | |
| TOUCH: | 105-107p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 146p | LOW: 99p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4%* | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 32p | NET CASH: | £3.0m | |
| Half-year to 30 April | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 56.1 | 5.6 | 6.5 | nil |
| 2015 | 52.9 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 2.7 |
| % change | -6 | -31 | -37 | - |
Ex-div: 30 Jul Payment: 28 Aug *Includes special dividend of 1.5p, paid 13 March | ||||
