Castings enjoyed a strong recovery in the year - that helped return activity levels to where they were in 2008, before the recession led to a slump in orders.
That return to pre-recession trading levels saw the group's William Lee foundry operating at near capacity, having previously been working on a three-day week basis, while many of the workers originally made redundant have since been re-employed. The despatch weight of castings to customers grew from 31,800 tonnes to 50,600 tonnes, 60 per cent of which was exported, while turnover at CNC Speedwell, the machinist operation, jumped by 151 per cent in the period.
Cash generation improved strongly, too, and - while £9m was invested in plant and equipment - net cash fell just £1m in the period. The group is also planning to spend £5m to build a warehouse and possible manufacturing facility that is expected improve logistics and ease traffic congestion around the current Brownhills sites. Castings also received a further £0.86m from the administrators in relation to losses on deposits made with Icelandic banks, bringing the total to £2.06m - which is £0.2m more than the initial estimate of recoverable amounts.
Arden Partners has upgraded its 2012 forecasts and now expects pre-tax profit of £16m, giving EPS of 26.3p.
| CASTINGS (CGS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 355p | MARKET VALUE: | £155m | |
| TOUCH: | 355-360p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 360p | LOW: 175p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.0% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 184p | NET CASH: | £13.7m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 86.2 | 13.1 | 21.6 | 9.52 |
| 2008 | 97.3 | 16.7 | 27.5 | 10.00 |
| 2009 | 84.8 | 3.62 | 1.43 | 10.00 |
| 2010 | 60.6 | 9.80 | 17.5 | 10.00 |
| 2011 | 105 | 15.5 | 26.7 | 10.75 |
| % change | +73 | +58 | +53 | +8 |
Ex-div: 20 Jul Payment: 19 Aug | ||||
