You could say these results reflect Charles Taylor 's (CTR) strong staying power with its clients, which is not all that surprising given the group's genesis reaches as far back as 1840. Shares were aloft on better-then-anticipated turnover growth and a 22.4 per cent rise in adjusted earnings, despite a weaker performance in the adjusting services business. Overall, however, these results tell us as much about where the insurance specialist is going as its familiar past.
In addition to a successful rights issue, the group's Lloyd's turn-key agency secured the management of its first syndicate, Syndicate 1884, which began underwriting on April Fools' Day. Charles Taylor's insurance support services business provided a pointer to future growth and a greatly improved contribution to group profitability. The insurance technology arm of this business is likely to become a key earnings driver and generator of repeat revenues.
During the period, the group also participated in a Lloyd's market initiative to integrate claims management software services into 'electronic claims files'; with over half of all early adopters being users of Charles Taylor's own automated claims management software.
Broker Peel Hunt said the results demonstrate that Charles Taylor had "successfully grown earnings despite the increased number of shares following the rights issue". The broker predicts adjusted pre-tax profits of £16.6m in 2016, giving EPS of 21.7p, against £14.2m and 20p in 2015.
| CHARLES TAYLOR (CTR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 245p | MARKET VALUE: | £163m | |
| TOUCH: | 240-255p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 290p | LOW: 200p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.3% | PE RATIO: | 12 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 105p* | NET DEBT: | 11% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 † | 102 | 6.4 | 11.3 | 8.85 |
| 2012 † | 108 | 6.6 | 13.4 | 8.85 |
| 2013 † | 114 | 6.9 | 12.6 | 8.85 |
| 2014 | 122 | 9.7 | 17.8 | 9.42 |
| 2015 | 143 | 12.8 | 18.6 | 10.0 |
| % change | +17 | +32 | +5 | -7 |
Ex-div: 7 Apr Payment: 6 May *Includes intangible assets of £62m, or 94p a share. †Adjusted for 2015 3-for-7 rights issue. | ||||
