Motivcom, which organises events and employee motivation schemes, says it's in a confident mood, despite the ailing economy and job market. Management believes that the value of staff incentive schemes really shows through at times when every sale counts, and cross-selling opportunities also exist following last year’s acquisition spree.
There are some grounds to take comfort from the group's cautiously optimistic assessment of prospects. After all, the group has established a strong track record, has a large blue-chip client base, and executive chairman Colin Lloyd is a veteran of no less than five previous downturns. What’s more, there's order visibility in some parts of the business, such as large event organisation.
However, signs of strain are also starting to show. Clients have begun taking longer to make spending decisions and are negotiating hard on price. Given that the economy could yet have much worse to throw at UK businesses, it is hard to believe that the rest of the year and 2009 will be anything other than tough. Nevertheless, house broker Numis Securities is sticking by its EPS forecasts of 11.6p for the year (2007: 8.9p), with pre-tax profits of £4.9m (2007: £3.3m).
| Motivcom (MCM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 90p | MARKET VALUE: | £26.2m | |
| TOUCH: | 88-92p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 150p | LOW: 66p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.6% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60p* | NET DEBT: | 11% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Net div per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 38.7 | 1.23 | 3.49 | 0.50 |
| 2008 | 55.9 | 1.38 | 3.17 | 0.80 |
| % change | +44 | +12 | -9 | +60 |
Ex-div: 1 Oct Payment: 31 Oct * Includes intangible assets of £21.6m, or 74p per share | ||||
