Cash-strapped transportation operators have turned to Tracsis (TRCS) to reduce costs, boost efficiency and improve safety. The group, which helps clients to monitor and optimise their operations, primarily relied on a pair of acquisitions to drive growth in the reported period. Exclude their combined revenue of £7.3m and group turnover was flat at £25.3m; include them, and exclude one-off costs and disposed businesses, and cash profit leapt a fifth to £7.4m.
During the period, Tracsis acquired event-traffic management specialist SEP and Ontrac, a software developer and hosting group, both of which boosted revenue in their respective divisions. Exclude SEP's revenue, and account for management's disposal of the Australian data capture business, and turnover slumped by more than a quarter in the traffic and data services division. Similarly, exclude Ontrac's contribution and sales only rose 3 per cent in the rail technology and services division, as lower remote condition monitoring (RCM) turnover offset higher software and consulting revenue.
Management invested in Citi Logik, a mobile analytics company, and Nutshell Software, which creates mobile business applications for large companies. Moreover, it recently secured its maiden overseas order for RCM technology from a top-tier US railroad operator.
Broker Investec Securities expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £8m for the year to July 2017, giving EPS of 24p, up from £6.7m and 22p in FY2016.
| TRACSIS (TRCS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 529p | MARKET VALUE: | £146m | |
| TOUCH: | 522-535p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 568p | LOW: 415p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.2% | PE RATIO: | 43 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 103p* | NET CASH: | £11.4m | |
| Year to 31 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 8.7 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 0.55 |
| 2013 | 10.8 | 2.6 | 8.4 | 0.70 |
| 2014 | 22.4 | 4.2 | 12.9 | 0.80 |
| 2015 (restated)† | 23.1 | 4.2 | 13.4 | 1.00 |
| 2016 | 24.1 | 3.8 | 12.4 | 1.20 |
| % change | +4 | -9 | -7 | +20 |
Ex-div: 26 Jan Payment: 10 Feb *Includes intangible assets of £26.1m, or 94p a share †Excludes discontinued operations | ||||
