Accustomed to their smartphones and tablets when out and about, executives are clamouring for similar tools in the workplace. That trend helped Computacenter (CCC) deliver a 5 per cent increase in adjusted pre-tax profit to £85.9m last year. Its ever-robust cash generation, coupled with the windfall from a recent disposal, prompted management to return £100m to shareholders last month, or 71.9p a share.
The IT services and infrastructure provider is gradually shifting its focus from volatile supply chain work to service provision. Both divisions grew sales last year, driven by the key UK business. Operating profit in the home market leapt 17 per cent as the group inked contracts with Royal Mail, the Post Office and AstraZeneca.
The situation was less sunny on the continent. The French business - which management describes as "out of date and uncompetitive" - incurred £9.1m in restructuring costs, but even discounting these its operating loss widened by 28 per cent. The group has raced to reduce the segment's bloated cost base, which hampers its ability to win key international services contracts in western Europe. Operating profit also slid in Germany, but record fourth-quarter sales there bode well for 2015.
Broker Panmure Gordon expects pre-tax profit of £85.7m, giving EPS of 47.7p, rising to £96.3m and 57.2p in 2016.
| COMPUTACENTER (CCC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 724p | MARKET VALUE: | £888m | |
| TOUCH: | 722-725p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 760p | LOW: 584p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.6% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 314p* | NET CASH: | £119m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2.68 | 65.4 | 34.1 | 13.2 |
| 2011 | 2.85 | 72.1 | 41.0 | 15.0 |
| 2012 (restated) | 2.81 | 64.8 | 32.9 | 15.5 |
| 2013 | 3.07 | 50.5 | 23.2 | 17.5† |
| 2014 | 3.11 | 76.4 | 40.5 | 19.0† |
| % change | +1 | +51 | +75 | +9 |
Ex-div: 21 May Payment: 19 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £90.3m, or 74p a share †Dividends per share of 19.6p in 2013 and 19.8p in 2014 when adjusted for share consolidation in Feb 2015 | ||||
