As long as you ignore currency effects, half-year results from Photo-Me International (PHTM) give a pretty sharp picture of the photo-booth specialist. Underlying cash profit rose 6 per cent to £35.8m on a constant-currency basis, although they fell 1 per cent at actual exchange rates given the strength of sterling against the euro and the Japanese yen. And - again at constant currencies - the top-line growth that emerged at the end of the most recent financial year, after several periods of falling turnover, has continued.
Continental Europe, which accounts for 55 per cent of revenue, was helped by a very strong showing from the laundry machines operated by the group. Interim finance director Gabriel Pirona said this business, which Photo-Me started two years ago, would continue to bolster growth. The recent acquisition of Fowler in the UK, which Mr Pirona said was "what we needed" to enter the domestic UK laundry market, will help with this strategy. So too will the company's focus on developing Revolution 2, its new automated laundry machines that are half the size of their predecessors. They should be particularly attractive in countries such as Japan where "space is an issue".
House broker finnCap expects pre-tax profit of £35m for the 2015-16 financial year, leading to EPS of 6.7p, compared with £30.1m and 5.7p in FY2015.
| PHOTO-ME INTERNATIONAL (PHTM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 150p | MARKET VALUE: | £561m | |
| TOUCH: | 147p-150p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 163p | LOW: 132p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.4% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 27p | NET CASH: | £67m | |
| Half-year to 31 Oct | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 96.4 | 28.8 | 5.51 | 2.34 |
| 2015 | 92.8 | 25.8 | 5.03 | 2.58 |
| % change | -4 | -10 | -9 | +10 |
Ex-div: 7 Apr Payment: 12 May | ||||
