UK transport operators are straining to cope with soaring passenger numbers and rising demand for public transport. Many have turned to Tracsis (TRCS), which produces software that tracks passenger and vehicle activity and predicts faults, in a desire to minimise their delays and optimise train timetables and staff schedules. Robust demand fuelled a 23 per cent rise in first-half adjusted cash profits.
Tracsis' software sales soared by 151 per cent to £3m. That reflected strong underlying growth and the acquisition of Datasys last May. The division looks set to benefit from domestic rail refranchising activity; its consultancy team will support bidders for the Northern and TransPennine Express franchise bids.
Sales were down 46 per cent at the remote condition monitoring division. That reflected order timing at key customer National Grid, partly offset by a £1.1m framework agreement with a large UK customer. It also continued to 'seed' the US market: it signed a new distribution deal and convinced two large US transportation networks to pilot its technology.
Sales leapt 28 per cent at Tracsis' data capture division, which has counted visitors at the Olympics, Wimbledon and elsewhere for security and planning purposes. That reflected customer wins, improved traction with clients and ongoing projects. Management plans to use the hefty net cash pile to fund acquisitions in the near future, and is exploring the application of Tracsis' monitoring technology in the energy industry.
Broker Investec expects pre-tax profit of £5.5m, giving EPS of 16.5p for 2015 (from £5m and 15.5p in 2014).
| TRACSIS (TRCS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 395p | MARKET VALUE: | £105m | |
| TOUCH: | 390-400p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 456p | LOW: 275p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.2% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 77p* | NET CASH: | £10.0m | |
| Half-year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 9.8 | 2.3 | 6.7 | 0.35 |
| 2015 | 12.0 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 0.40 |
| % change | +22 | +13 | +19 | +14 |
Ex-div: 23 Apr Payment: 8 May *Includes intangible assets of £10.4m, or 39p a share | ||||
