Creston (CRE) chief Barrie Brien made good progress during his maiden year in charge of the marketing communications group. Organic sales rose for the first time in four years, driving constant-currency pre-tax profit up 3 per cent to about £10m.
Management has united Creston's various agencies under a new 'Unlimited' brand to encourage co-operation, referrals and joint pitches. The strategy has helped convince key customers Canon and Danone to work with five and six of its businesses respectively - up from two in 2011. Mr Brien has also focused on digital marketing and overseas expansion. Digital and online sales rose 7 per cent to account for 55 per cent of group revenue, while overseas sales rose 3 per cent, held back by the strong pound.
Creston filled gaps in its service range through investments, acquisitions and partnerships. Since the year-end it has already acquired digital consultancy How Splendid and a sizeable stake in UK advertising agency 18 Feet & Rising.
Although Creston's key communications and insight division won work with Sky, Bentley and others, the falling euro and higher freelancing costs meant its adjusted pre-tax profit slid 2 per cent. Underlying sales and pre-tax profits both dipped at the smaller health division as several UK clients cut budgets and delayed projects.
Broker N+1 Singer expects EPS of 14p in the year to March 2016 (From 13.1p for FY2015).
| CRESTON (CRE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 132p | MARKET VALUE: | £77m | |
| TOUCH: | 130-133p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 134p | LOW: 104p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.2% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 200p* | NET CASH: | £8.3m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 67.8 | 8.4 | 9.4 | 3.00 |
| 2012 | 74.9 | 10.8 | 15.1 | 3.50 |
| 2013 | 75.2 | 11.0 | 16.1 | 3.67 |
| 2014 | 74.9 | 7.2 | 8.6 | 3.90 |
| 2015 | 76.9 | 9.6 | 12.5 | 4.20 |
| % change | +3 | +34 | +46 | +8 |
Ex-div: 6 Aug Payment: 11 Sep *Includes intangible assets of £107m, or 182p a share | ||||
