An €150m (£108m) impairment of intangible assets pushed C&C's (CCR) income statement into the red for the year to February, with a reported operating loss of €58.4m against a profit of €106m for the 2014 year-end. But the Irish drinks group's adjusted figures provide a truer reflection of a mixed trading year.
Strip out excise duties and C&C turned in a double-digit increase in revenue to €684m. Cash profit fell by 7.2 per cent to €140m, but the group was still able to fund a substantial hike in the dividend thanks to a surge in free cash-flow.
C&C followed pub chain Greene King (GNK) in blaming tougher drink-driving laws in Scotland for weakening sales growth. Scotland reduced its legal alcohol limit last December, but it is still too early to assess the long-term effect on sales. The iconic Tennent's beer brand continues to perform well north of the border, which underpinned a solid - if unspectacular - 1.8 per cent increase in Scottish operating profit.
The Irish businesses turned in a similar result at the operating level, albeit on flat revenues. Beer volumes in Ireland give cause for encouragement, thanks again to Tennent's as well as successful product launches. But C&C's cider sales in Ireland weakened over the period.
Investec anticipates adjusted EPS of 28.4¢ for the current year, against 27.2¢ in 2014-15.
| C&C (CCR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 359¢ | MARKET VALUE: | €1.2bn | |
| TOUCH: | 358-359¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 502¢ | LOW: 316¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.2% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 228¢* | NET DEBT: | 20% | |
| Year to 28 Feb | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 770 | 80.0 | 22.1 | 6.60 |
| 2012 | 717 | 11.0 | 30.0 | 8.17 |
| 2013 | 724 | 105 | 27.2 | 8.75 |
| 2014 | 913 | 95.5 | 24.7 | 10.0 |
| 2015 | 987 | -67.8 | -24.5 | 11.5 |
| % change | +8 | - | - | +15 |
Ex-div: 21 May Payment: 10 Jul *Includes intangible assets of €652m, or 192¢ a share £1=€1.38 | ||||
