Card Factory (CARD) revealed another special dividend as it reported a 4 per cent rise in adjusted operating profit for the first half. By the time shareholders trouser the 17.8p total half-year payout, the retailer would have returned nearly £164m to shareholders since the stock floated two years ago. Management takes a discretionary approach to one-off payments, and with net debt at a manageable 1.26 times underlying cash profits and operating cash flow up 16 per cent to £37.9m, it certainly couldn't be accused of profligacy.
Like-for-like sales were broadly flat from a year ago; with reduced footfall mitigated by an increase in the average customer spend, as a growing proportion of punters add non-card products to their baskets.
Chief executive Karen Hubbard can be pleased with the retailer's progress since she came on board at the start of the year. Since taking up the reins, she has overseen the opening of 34 new stores, bringing the total estate to 848 units. Ms Hubbard told the IC that the retail offering is starting to attract viable customer numbers at larger retail parks, in addition to its traditional high-street locales.
Prior to these figures, Peel Hunt gave cash profits of £95.5m for the Jan 2017 year-end, along with EPS of 18.8p, compared with £95m and 18.8p in FY2016.
| CARD FACTORY (CARD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 312p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.06bn | |
| TOUCH: | 311p-314p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 389p | LOW: 273p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.8% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 78p* | NET DEBT: | 45% | |
| Half-year to 31 July | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 161 | 24.0 | 5.6 | 2.5 |
| 2016 † | 169 | 27.0 | 6.3 | 2.8 |
| % change | +5 | +13 | +12 | +12 |
Ex-div: 20 Oct Payment: 25 Nov **Includes intangible assets of £331m, or 97p a share. †A special dividend of 15p per share has been declared; same ex- and pay dates apply. Yield excludes specials. | ||||
