Thanks to a July trading update, City analysts already knew medical proteins supplier Abcam (ABC) would report a 5 per cent improvement in revenues to £128m for the 2013-14 financial year. What they didn’t know was that currency headwinds would disguise underlying revenue growth closer to 9 per cent. In the same vein, statutory catalogue sales grew 6 per cent, but constant-currency catalogue sales actually improved 10 per cent to £118m. Brokerage Investec said the strength of sterling would prompt a 2 per cent downgrade to its EPS forecasts.
There were some signs of recovery in Abcam’s key markets last year, as the federal budget problems eased in the US and European sales were buoyed by strong performances in the UK and Switzerland. Abcam also consolidated its footprint in Asia Pacific by opening a new office in Shanghai in February.
Now the company is gearing up for a change in management. Alan Hirzel will assume the role of chief executive with immediate effect, replacing Jonathan Milner, who becomes deputy chairman. The market seemed to welcome the change: the shares rose over 5 per cent in early morning trading
Numis Securities expects pre-tax profits of £48.2m for the current financial year, giving EPS of 18.6p, up 3 per cent on last year.
| ABCAM (ABC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 437p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 876m | |
| TOUCH: | 436-437p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 534p | LOW: 346p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.8% | PE RATIO: | 26 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 90p* | NET CASH: | £57m | |
| Year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 71.1 | 25.8 | 10.7 | 4.01 |
| 2011 | 83.3 | 32.1 | 13.2 | 5.25 |
| 2012 | 97.8 | 34.7 | 13.7 | 6.05 |
| 2013 | 122 | 42.9 | 16.5 | 7.04 |
| 2014 | 128 | 43.6 | 17.1 | 7.75 |
| % change | +5 | +2 | +4 | +10 |
Ex-div: 06 Nov Payment: 28 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £104m or 52p per share | ||||
