The market expects a lot of efficient boiler manufacturer Flowgroup (FLOW), so yet another year in the red - operating losses in 2014 reached £10m, up from £7.7m - was hard to swallow. Shareholders who have backed the company's slow growth showed their disappointment by selling out. The shares fell 6 per cent on the day these results were published, extending a correction that started in January.
It's a shame, as Flowgroup had much to cheer in 2014. The company began manufacturing the electricity-generating Flow boiler, which non-executive chairman Clare Spottiswoode describes as a "game-changing product" and which last month received CE-type approval ahead of the first commercial installations in June. Furthermore, a recent £21.3m fundraising means that Flowgroup can accelerate the launch of a combi-boiler model, now expected early next year. That will give the company exposure to the entire UK boiler replacement market - about 1.7m units a year - as well as the 8.9m new boilers sold each year on the continent.
Analysts at broker Cenkos are forecasting a pre-tax loss of £10.9m this calendar year, equivalent to a 3.8p loss per share.
| FLOWGROUP (FLOW) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 26p | MARKET VALUE: | £84m | |
| TOUCH: | 26-26.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 49p | LOW: 23p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 6.9p* | NET CASH: | £6.2m** | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.03 | -3.5 | -5.5 | nil |
| 2011 | 0.15 | -6.7 | -10.3 | nil |
| 2012 | 0.01 | -5.0 | -5.6 | nil |
| 2013 | 13.8 | -10.2 | -7.4 | nil |
| 2014 | 33.4 | -10.1 | -3.9 | nil |
| % change | +142 | - | - | - |
*Includes intangible assets of £17.3m, or 5.4p a share. *Pre-fundraising of £22.3m. | ||||
