Electronics distributor Electrocomponents dished up more good news, beating analysts' forecasts and increasing the dividend. There was double-digit sales growth in all regions, while trading so far in the new financial year has been healthy.
Business is especially robust overseas, with underlying sales from the rapidly expanding international division up 25 per cent. And there has been little let-up in the first seven weeks of the current year - sales in the region, contributing 70 per cent of total revenue, grew 19 per cent. Meanwhile, a 12 per cent rise in UK sales put these back above pre-recession levels and costs fell again. Current-year UK sales have risen 8 per cent as rivals struggle to compete and market confidence is there, according to chief executive Ian Mason.
Investment in the electronics unit helped grow revenue there by 30 per cent. Indeed, Electrocomponents introduced over 37,000 new products last year, which went down well in hot markets such as Germany, China and the US, and the pipeline will keep growing. Semiconductor sales surged 60 per cent. Moreover, progress on the web side continued apace - management ultimately wants to generate 70 per cent of sales from e-commerce.
Peel Hunt expects pre-tax profit of £130.6m for 2012, giving EPS of 20.7p (£114m and 18p for 2011).
| ORD PRICE: | 288p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.26bn | |
| TOUCH: | 288-289p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 298p | LOW: 203p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.0% | PE RATIO: | 16 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 77p* | NET DEBT: | 48% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 0.88 | 87.2 | 13.2 | 18.4 |
| 2008 | 0.93 | 95.4 | 14.7 | 18.4 |
| 2009 | 0.98 | 96.5 | 15.2 | 11.0 |
| 2010 | 0.97 | 76.0 | 12.1 | 11.0 |
| 2011 | 1.18 | 114 | 18.0 | 11.5 |
| % change | +22 | +50 | +49 | +5 |
Ex-div.22 Jun Payment: 22 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £203m, or 47p a share | ||||
