Those who were hoping engineering consultancy Hyder (HYC) would announce an end to its Australian order drought were disappointed. The problems began last year when the Australian election brought political gridlock and led to a delay in infrastructure spending. That hiatus sent Hyder's Asia Pacific profits tumbling 40 per cent to £9m in the year to the end of March.
But with a new car-friendly prime minister installed there, Hyder's management told us that they are hopeful several large Australian highways contracts will now get off the ground. They hope to find out whether they have won a position on these projects - a design fee worth up to AUS$30m (£16.7m) to Hyder - in the autumn of this year. But management admits that the Australian market is at present still quiet.
Germany has been another tough customer as spending on public transport has faltered. Hyder made a £1.7m operating loss there last year and a £6.8m exceptional charge was booked for restructuring and goodwill write-downs. Management expects a return to profit this year as the restructuring bears fruit.
Broker Investec Securities has left current year expectations for adjusted EPS of 35.4p (35.3p in 2013-14) unchanged, but has trimmed next year's forecast by 6 per cent to 40.4p to reflect a more prudent view on the timing of Australian contract awards.
| HYDER CONSULTING (HYC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 452p | MARKET VALUE: | £176m | |
| TOUCH: | 451-459p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 695p | LOW: 394p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.9% | PE RATIO: | 54 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 203p* | NET CASH: | £13.2m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 309 | 13.5 | 29.5 | 6 |
| 2011 | 290 | 18.2 | 39.3 | 7.75 |
| 2012 | 277 | 17.7 | 36.5 | 9 |
| 2013 | 298 | 16.6 | 31.2 | 12 |
| 2014 | 297 | 5.4 | 8.4 | 13 |
| % change | - | -67 | -73 | +8 |
Ex-div: 8 Aug Payment: 9 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £38.9m, or 100p a share | ||||
