Specialist administrator Equiniti (EQN) gave a solid performance on its first full year as a quoted company, posting adjusted cash profit of £92.4m, up from £86.2m in 2015. A decline in pension-related revenue followed the completion of a project to replatform MyCSP, which administrates the civil service retirement scheme. Overall, though, the group managed organic revenue growth of 2.1 per cent, or 6.8 per cent if MyCSP is excluded.
The group's investment administration business grew revenue to £124m, representing organic growth of 6.7 per cent, as the group won share registration contracts and enjoyed a full-year contribution from payment services provider TransGlobal. The so-called 'intelligent solutions' division, which helps businesses with complex or regulated tasks, grew 8.9 per cent on the same measure due to demand for complaints management software and for KYCnet, its recently acquired platform for complying with anti-money laundering rules.
The group spent £12m on current-year acquisitions in 2016, down from £20m in 2015 - a further £20m-£30m is expected to be spent in 2017.
Analysts at Peel Hunt increased its forecast for adjusted 2017 pre-tax profit by 3 per cent to £62.1m, giving underlying EPS of 16.5p (from £58.8m and 15.9p in 2016).
| EQUINITI (EQN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 190p | MARKET VALUE: | £570m | |
| TOUCH: | 190-190.25p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 209p | LOW: 141p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 128p* | NET DEBT: | 62% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012** | 267 | -42.9 | na | na |
| 2013** | 275 | -56.4 | na | na |
| 2014** | 292 | -38.6 | na | na |
| 2015** | 369 | -71.7 | -92.8 | 0.68 |
| 2016 | 383 | 28.5 | 10.2 | 4.75 |
| % change | +4 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 20 Apr Payment: 31 May *Includes intangible assets of £670.1m, or 223p a share **Equiniti listed in October 2015 | ||||
