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Character numbers given Peppa flavour

Toys of the cartoon pig are proving enduringly popular with the younger generation
December 1, 2016

Love or loathe her, there's no doubt Peppa Pig is bringing home the bacon for toymaker Character (CCT). The franchise continues to be its top-selling brand, although sales are also helped by the likes of Teletubbies and Little Live Pets. The core product range, which management describes as "value for money", contributed to sales growth both on home soil and overseas.

IC TIP: Buy at 478p

The revenue split between the UK and abroad is also going in the right direction. Sales to international customers, which are made in US dollars, rose by 50 per cent to £31.7m, taking them to just over a quarter of group revenue. This is particularly helpful given the current weakness of sterling, as it provides a natural hedge by better balancing dollar costs with dollar sales.

While Peppa remains the bread winner, reliance on her is shrinking thanks to the rejuvenation of franchises such as Scooby Doo and new licences such as Stretch Armstrong, which will provide one of several new product launches planned for 2017.

Analysts at Panmure Gordon expect adjusted pre-tax profit of £15.4m for the year to August 2017, giving adjusted EPS of 49.9p, up from £15.1m and 47.7p in FY2016.

CHARACTER (CCT)
ORD PRICE:478pMARKET VALUE:£101m
TOUCH:470-485p12-MONTH HIGH:572pLOW: 420p
DIVIDEND YIELD:3.1%PE RATIO:10
NET ASSET VALUE:109pNET CASH:£6.9m

Year to 31 AugTurnover (£m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (p)Dividend per share (p)
201275.07.125.66.0
201367.20.20.76.6
201497.97.127.76.6
201599.112.348.611.0
201612113.150.315.0
% change+22+7+4+36

Ex-div: 5 Jan

Payment: 27 Jan