Reported figures for the first half of e2v Technologies ' (E2V) accounting year came up short of its 2015 comparatives due to delays in order placements that affected its professional imaging business stream. The comparative period's figures did benefit from a £2.6m contribution from the thermal imaging business sold in October 2015, but gross margins came under pressure from an unfavourable business mix as semiconductor sales tilted towards lower-margin lines. The end result was an 8 per cent fall in gross profits, an adequate reflection of e2v's tightening end markets through the period.
Management remains circumspect about e2v's full-year returns due to the inherent unpredictability of the big-ticket contracts linked to the group's space imaging business. Although these are essentially timing issues, and unavoidable given the nature of the long-dated projects the business serves, the lumpiness of the revenue stream does tend to distort group sales trends and gross margins. e2v expects to secure three key follow-on orders in space imaging in the latter part of its financial year, although management stressed that the timing of these awards is far from certain.
Investec has reduced its forecast for adjusted profits by 7 per cent to £42.8m for the March 2017 year-end, leading to EPS of 13.5p, against £40.8m and 14.4p in FY2016.
| E2V TECHNOLOGIES (E2V) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 190p | MARKET VALUE: | £416m | |
| TOUCH: | 190p-194p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 250p | LOW: 160p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.9% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 95p* | NET DEBT: | 8% | |
| Half-yearto 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 110 | 13.8 | 4.8 | 1.6 |
| 2016 | 103 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| % change | -6 | -48 | -56 | +6 |
Ex-div: 17 Nov Payment: 20 Dec *Includes intangible assets of £120m, or 55p a share | ||||
