Product innovation and strong relationships with equipment manufacturers helped drive a 4 per cent increase in adjusted pre-tax profits at Alent (ALNT) last year. Strip out currency headwinds and the chemical group's net sales, adjusted operating profit and margins all increased over the year.
Alent's new boss, Andrew Heath, credited his predecessor Steve Corbett's restructuring programme, as well as years of investment. These helped the group reap the benefits of strengthening semiconductor demand following a number of tablet and smartphone launches. There were also promising signs from the automotive and industrial markets. Light vehicle production grew in the region of 3 per cent during the year, while the electronics content in cars continues to rise.
Looking ahead, Mr Heath expects automotive semiconductor markets to grow anually by about 9 per cent and tablet markets by roughly 7 per cent. In response, the group will ramp up investment to ensure the rapid development of new products, including the recruitment of 100 people in its technical services and R&D teams. Management will also plough up to £7m into Alent's sales channels and customer support.
Broker Liberum expects pre-tax profits of £95.7m for 2015, giving EPS of 27p (up from £91.5m and 25p in 2014).
| ALENT (ALNT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 366p | MARKET VALUE: | £975m | |
| TOUCH: | 366-368p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 383p | LOW: 296p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | 22 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 107p* | NET DEBT: | 38% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 814 | 94.4 | 27.0 | na |
| 2012 | 714 | 73.2 | 16.2 | 8.3 |
| 2013 | 685 | 77.7 | 22.1 | 8.6 |
| 2014 | 645 | 73.4 | 17.0 | 9.0† |
| % change | -6 | -6 | -23 | +5 |
Ex-div: 14 May Payment: 19 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £294m, or 110p a share †Excludes special dividend of 15p a share | ||||
