It's not always a good sign when a business announces a name change following a disappointing year. But for Brulines - fresh from its March profits warning - there are at least sound reasons for its plan to rename itself as Vianet as it becomes more than just a beer-pump monitoring business; which explains the current name.
True, prospects for the beer-pump monitoring side remain tough with clients closing pubs and delaying orders. The leisure division saw sales fall 6 per cent to £18.2m. But it's hoped that the relaunch of the iDraught product and overseas investment will help performance. Moreover, other businesses look set to play a more prominent roll - and not only because of the beer businesses decline. Fuel-pump monitoring sales rose from £500,000 to £6.1m following three key acquisitions, which means Brulines can now offer a full range of forecourt services. Initial reactions to that offering from supermarkets and petrol-station groups is reported to be "extremely encouraging". Meanwhile, the Vianet vending-machine monitoring business, which forms part of the leisure division, should return to profit this year and start utilising its £16m of tax losses.
Cenkos expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £4.5m for 2012, giving EPS of 11.3p (2011: £3.9m/11.2p).
| Brulines (BRU) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 92p | MARKET VALUE: | £26m | |
| TOUCH: | 89-94p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 124p | LOW: 88p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 6.1% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 80p* | NET DEBT: | 5% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 16.8 | 2.40 | 7.20 | 3.00 |
| 2008 | 17.1 | 4.17 | 12.0 | 5.00 |
| 2009 | 19.1 | 4.62 | 13.6 | 5.35 |
| 2010 | 19.8 | 4.03 | 10.9 | 5.50 |
| 2011 | 24.3 | 3.03 | 8.61 | 5.65 |
| % change | +22 | -25 | -21 | +3 |
Ex-div: 15 Jun Payment: 28 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £19.1m, or 69p per share | ||||
