Card Factory's (CARD) maiden full-year results as a listed company were good apart from a slight dip in like-for-like sales growth. At 1.8 per cent, the growth rate was shy of the group's five-year historical average - and management target - of 2.5 per cent. Chief executive Richard Hayes cited strong comparatives as well as increased competition in the second half, as new players entered the value end of the card market.
That aside, Card Factory achieved a number of goals last year: it refinanced its debt, so borrowing costs have fallen, and opened 51 stores, which contributed to topline growth of 8 per cent. The business is vertically integrated - it makes its own cards - so margins are high, and last year rose to 25 per cent from 24.6 per cent.
That was largely driven by the Getting Personal online gifting business acquired in 2012, where better marketing and economies of scale translated into a 68 per cent jump in underlying cash profits to £2.8m. In the core Card Factory division profits rose 8 per cent to £85.4m. Mr Hayes says the group plans to open another 50 stores this year.
Investec expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £73.2m in the year to January 2016, giving EPS of 16p, up from £67.2m and 15p last year.
| CARD FACTORY (CARD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 292p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.0bn | |
| TOUCH: | 290-294p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 305p | LOW:195p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 83p* | NET DEBT: | 37% | |
| Year to 31 Jan | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012** | 266 | 16.3 | na | na |
| 2013** | 300 | 23.8 | na | na |
| 2014 | 327 | 30.1 | 7.5 | na |
| 2015 | 353 | 42.7 | 10.6 | 6.8 |
| % change | +8 | +42 | +41 | - |
Ex-div: 30 Apr Payment: 5 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £331m, or 97p a share **Pre-IPO figures | ||||
