Demand for Aga cookers cooled during the recession, but now sales of the iconic kitchen giants are heating up as the housing market recovers. That and strong operational gearing has boosted the performance of Aga Rangemaster (AGA), which posted a 26 per cent rise in operating profit to £8.2m.
Sales volumes of Aga cookers rose 10 per cent last year as the new, more efficient electric models launched in June proved popular. It proved more difficult to flog the cooker-cum-boiler brands Rayburn and Stanley: there was strong demand for wood-burning and boiler stoves, but cast-iron cooker volumes fell 3 per cent to 10,000. Rangemaster endured a slow start to the year, but finished slightly ahead thanks to the interest sparked by new products. Plans are even afoot to enter the Chinese market with cookers equipped with woks.
Adjusted underlying EPS, which excludes onerous pension charges and non-recurring costs, grew 7 per cent to 7.6p. This year's order intake is 6 per cent ahead of last year, so analysts at Numis Securities have increased their 2014 pre-tax profit forecast by 29 per cent to £11m, giving underlying EPS of 12.1p.
| AGA RANGEMASTER (AGA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 190p | MARKET VALUE: | £132m | |
| TOUCH: | 189-191p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 190p | LOW: 77p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 158 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 174p* | NET CASH: | £5.9m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 245 | 0.5 | 2.5 | nil |
| 2010 | 259 | 19.9 | 20.5 | 1.7 |
| 2011 | 251 | 7.5 | 18.8 | 1.9 |
| 2012 | 245 | 1.7 | 2.3 | nil |
| 2013 | 250 | 1.1 | 1.2 | nil |
| % change | +2 | -35 | -48 | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £90.9m, or 131p a share | ||||
