"So far so good" was chairman Nick Basing's assessment of the recovery under way at five-a-side football pitch operator Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL). As that turnaround strategy was only launched alongside June's £16.8m share placing, there was less to cheer in a set of numbers whose greatest accolade was a slowdown in the rate of declining like-for-like sales from 11.4 per cent at the end of 2015 to 2 per cent in the first six months of 2016.
The company has certainly put the money to use quickly. Borrowings were effectively halved to £19.2m in June, which should reduce future interest payments and help the group to complete its pitch modernisation programme by the end of the year. With 46 pitches already "modernised", Mr Basing said more capital had been invested "in rejuvenating [the] core estate in the past three months than over the last 10 years", but Goals still has much to do to improve its stickiness with players and teams. Other than a newly appointed management team, led by chief executive Mark Jones, several elements of the refreshed strategy - including digital engagement, international expansion and alternative uses of the pitches - sound familiar.
Canaccord Genuity is forecasting full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of £8.3m and EPS of 9.8p, rising to £9.6m and 10.1p in the 12 months to December 2017.
GOALS SOCCER CENTRES (GOAL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 109p | MARKET VALUE: | £81.6m | |
| TOUCH: | 107-110p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 170p | LOW: 86p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 122p | NET DEBT: | 21% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 17.1 | 4.47 | 6.0 | 0.685 |
| 2016 | 17.0 | 3.50 | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| % change | -0.5 | -22 | -25 | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na | ||||
