Increased demand for services and supplies following the start of oil drilling offset continued weakness in the UK businesses to help Falkland Islands Holdings deliver record underlying pre-tax profit - adjusted for last year's gain on the sale of shares.
Activity has grown in the Falklands since Desire Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration began drilling in the North Falkland basin in early 2010. This boosted revenues from the Falklands Islands Company unit by 20 per cent to £14.9m, although chairman David Hudd expects last year's growth to moderate, on top of which rising inflation is putting pressure on margins. Nevertheless, the four deepwater wells that Borders & Southern and Falkland Oil & Gas will drill in the South Falkland basin from late 2011 will keep the islands bustling with oil men for at least a year. In the meantime, the Momart fine art logistics business is facing fierce competition and tight margins while the Portsmouth Harbour Ferry should benefit from its new pontoon and landing stage at Gosport.
| FALKLAND ISLANDS HOLDINGS (FKL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 305p | MARKET VALUE: | £28.1m | |
| TOUCH: | 300-310p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 565p | LOW: 275p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.1% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 332p* | NET DEBT: | 7% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 15.6 | 2.03 | 18.8 | 7.0 |
| 2008 | 17.2 | 1.91 | 16.3 | 8.0 |
| 2009 | 32.3 | -0.63 | -12.8 | 8.0 |
| 2010 | 29.2 | 5.67 | 58.2 | 9.0 |
| 2011 | 31.8 | 2.33 | 17.7 | 9.5 |
| % change | +9 | -59 | -70 | +6 |
Ex-div: 14 Sep Payment: 14 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £13.1m, or 142p a share | ||||
