John Laing's (JLG) profits suffered by comparison to the 2014 half-year as the latter period was boosted by weighty receipts from work linked to the Intercity Express programme. But the UK infrastructure group did increase its net asset value (NAV) by 6.6 per cent to £822m.
The group invested £72.1m in new infrastructure projects in Australia and Europe, down on the £84.7m invested in 2014. However, management expects to increase its investment commitments during the second-half. The primary investment portfolio - responsible for the group's bid development - dropped 14 per cent in value to £357m. This was as a result of four of its projects becoming operational and moving into the secondary investment portfolio.
In the public private partnership sector (PPP), the group made a £41.4m investment in the Sydney Light Rail project and £30.7m in two onshore wind farms in Ireland and Sweden. The group's secondary investment portfolio - which consists of 17 PPP projects and three renewable energy projects - increased its book value by 16 per cent to £339m. It realised £54.1m from the sale of investments including the North Birmingham Mental Health Hospitals.
House broker Barclays expects adjusted EPS of 24.3p for the full-year, down from 40.1p in 2014.
JOHN LAING GROUP (JLG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 209p | MARKET VALUE: | £767m | |
| TOUCH: | 209-211p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 240p | LOW: 190p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.8% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 224p | NET CASH: | £154m | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 138 | 101 | 34.3 | nil |
| 2015 | 64.4 | 32.6 | 9.3 | 1.6 |
| % change | -53 | -68 | -73 | - |
Ex-div: 1 Oct Payment: 30 Oct *Includes cash balances in fair valued entities of £151.8m of which £63.8m is held to collateralise future investment commitments. | ||||
