Stobart's (STOB) bets on energy and aviation yielded mixed results for the six months to August, but were enough to drive adjusted pre-tax profit up 5 per cent to £4.6m. The gains stemmed from the group's operation supplying waste wood biomass fuel. Despite unscheduled maintenance works requiring the repeated closure of two customer plants and the European migrant crisis blocking roads in and around the Eurotunnel, biomass sales climbed 9 per cent to £36m.
Management expects to compensate for the reduced first-half volumes in the second half. It also inked two long-term contracts in the period, leaving it on track to surpass its goal of supplying 2m tonnes annually by 2018.
It was a bumpier ride at Stobart's other identified growth business. The group was slow to attract more routes to Southend Airport, depressing passenger numbers by a fifth to 504,000. That sent aviation revenue down 3 per cent to £11.9m - even as revenue per passenger climbed a fifth to £22.43 thanks to the opening of a new bar and restaurant.
In response to the weakness in aviation, broker Stifel trimmed adjusted pre-tax profit forecasts by 35 per cent to £11.8m for the year to February 2016, giving adjusted EPS of 2.1p.
| STOBART (STOB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 111p | MARKET VALUE: | £364m | |
| TOUCH: | 111-112p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 122p | LOW: 96p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.4% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 120p* | NET DEBT: | 13% | |
| Half-year to 31 Aug | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 57.6 | -8.6 | -2.26 | 2.0 |
| 2015 | 57.6 | 0.6 | 0.35 | 2.0 |
| % change | -0 | -107 | - | |
Ex-div: 5 Nov Payment: 4 Dec *Includes intangible assets of £114m, or 35p a share | ||||
