Ferocious demand for frisbees, tote bags and other corporate 'swag' underpinned strong growth at 4imprint (FOUR) in 2015. The direct marketer of promotional products posted a 24 per cent rise in adjusted operating profit to $32.8m (£23.1m).
Orders of personalised items soared a fifth to 945,000. That reflected 4imprint's targeted, data-driven marketing, which attracted more than 220,000 new customers. It also shipped more than 1.75m boxes of free samples to clients, spurring a 21 per cent rise in orders from existing customers.
Sales surged a fifth in North America, where 4imprint earns more than 96 per cent of its turnover. That was despite a mixed economic backdrop and adverse currency movements in Canada. The group also snatched market share in the UK and Ireland, driving underlying revenue up 16 per cent there. Moreover, management completed a $9m investment programme that expanded its offices and more than doubled the capacity of its distribution centre in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And it agreed to pay £10m into the company's pension scheme, which should halve the deficit to about $11.5m.
Broker FinnCap expects pre-tax profit of $38.4m for the current financial year, giving EPS of 97.8¢, compared with $33.5m and 87.5¢ in the reported period.
| 4IMPRINT (FOUR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,228p | MARKET VALUE: | £344m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,228-1,250p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,350p | LOW: 990p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 102¢ | NET CASH: | $18.4m | |
| Year to 27 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 159 | 0.4 | -6.2 | 14.60 |
| 2012 | 184 | 6.4 | 16.4 | 15.45 |
| ($m) | ($m) | (¢) | (p) | |
| 2013 | 333 | 14.5 | 40.1 | 17.00 |
| 2014 | 416 | 23.3 | 59.7 | 20.45 |
| 53 week-period to 2 Jan 2016 | 497 | 31.2 | 81.3 | 26.57 |
| % change | +20 | +33 | +36 | +30 |
Ex-div: 7 Apr Payment: 13 May £1=$1.42 | ||||
