Children's television favourites the Teletubbies and Peppa Pig make a potent combination if Character 's (CCT) results are anything to go by. The independent toy manufacturer's sales jump helped adjusted pre-tax profit grow nearly 23 per cent compared with the same period last year, thanks to the aforementioned franchises, as well as other favourites including Scooby Doo and Fireman Sam. Its forthcoming launch of some Stretch Armstrong toys will extend its range and will be complemented by a new TV series being developed by Netflix.
Sales are still heavily UK-weighted but it's worth noting that international purchases now amount to nearly a quarter of turnover. However, this did lead to a slight reduction in profit margins, and trading globally also means exposure to currency fluctuations. Its derivative contracts, aimed at mitigating the impact of buying in dollars and selling predominantly in sterling, had led to a £100,000 profit but this was well down on the £1.5m registered in the first half of the previous financial year.
Analysts at Allenby Capital expect pre-tax profit of £12.6m for the year ending August 2016, leading to EPS of 49p, compared with £12.3m and 48.6p in FY2015.
| CHARACTER (CCT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 523p | MARKET VALUE: | £112m | |
| TOUCH: | 520-525p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 533p | LOW: 373p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.1% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 100p | NET CASH: | £14.5m | |
| Half-year to 29 Feb | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 58.2 | 8.53 | 35.7 | 5.0 |
| 2016 | 65.2 | 8.74 | 32.9 | 7.0 |
| % change | +12 | +2 | -8 | +40 |
Ex-div: 7 Jul Payment: 29 Jul | ||||
