BBA Aviation (BBA) has had a "busy but encouraging" first half, says chief executive Simon Pryce. The company is finally seeing signs of recovery in the US - its main market for business and general flying - which helped drive a 3 per cent improvement in group revenues in the first six months of 2014. The disposal of the APPH landing gear business wiped $37m (£22m) from the top-line, but this was offset by a $31m contribution from acquisitions and a $16m gain from foreign exchange movements. That said, strip out any disposals, acquisitions and currency movements and revenues still rose 2 per cent.
The flight support division was the star performer in the first half, driving a 12 per cent improvement in revenue to $776m. Acquisitions contributed close to $30m of that, but on a like-for-like basis, revenue still grew a steady 8 per cent. What's more, while expansion costs weighed heavy on other divisions within the group, flight support's underlying operating profit grew 14 per cent to $66.6m.
The aftermarket services division - which repairs engines and maintains aerospace platforms - suffered from lower-than-anticipated volumes and fewer whole engine sales. The APPH disposal also dragged sales down, leaving revenue down 12 per cent at $373m.
Analysts at JP Morgan nudged EPS forecasts for the full year up to 32ȼ from 31ȼ.
BBA AVIATION (BBA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 305p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 304-305p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 355p | LOW: 281p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.0% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 223ȼ* | NET DEBT: | 54% | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover ($bn) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.11 | 63.2 | 11.4 | 4.4 |
| 2014 | 1.15 | 92.0 | 18.7 | 4.62 |
| % change | +3 | +46 | +64 | +5 |
Ex-div: 17 Sep Payment: 31 Oct £1 = £1.69 *Includes intangible assets of $1.15bn or 243ȼ a share | ||||
