The latest results from 4imprint (FOUR) have beaten market expectations, prompting a round of forecast upgrades from City analysts. Peel Hunt said the merchandise printer's revenues of $231m (£148m) came in 2 per cent ahead of expectations, with pre-tax profits 3 per cent ahead. The broker has nudged its 2015 forecasts up to give pre-tax profits of $32.9m and EPS of 81.9ȼ, compared with $27.2m and 69.2ȼ in 2014.
The stellar first-half performance can be attributed largely to strong growth in North America, where strong demand for customised products such as T-shirts and mugs drove revenues up by a fifth to $223m. That compares with wider industry growth in North America of just 3-4 per cent, the company says. 4imprint has done particularly well to win new business without neglecting existing customers: the group serviced 100,000 new customers in the period, yet orders from existing customers still grew by 22 per cent.
Meanwhile, revenues from the UK and Ireland rose by 4 per cent, although at constant currencies (4imprint reports results in US dollars) sales in the British Isles actually increased by 14 per cent. Orders from new customers rose 10 per cent while existing customer sales were up by more than a fifth.
As margins remained stable, group operating profits rose by an impressive 26 per cent in the first half.
| 4IMPRINT (FOUR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,200p | MARKET VALUE: | £336m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,201-1,228p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,215p | LOW: 651p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.2% | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 63ȼ | NET CASH: | $28m | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 193 | 7.3 | 19.3 | 6.20 |
| 2015 | 231 | 11.4 | 29.0 | 7.75 |
| % change | +20 | +57 | +50 | +25 |
Ex-div: 13 Aug Payment: 11 Sep £1 =$1.56 | ||||
