Organic revenues declined by just 4 per cent in the first half at public relations specialist Huntsworth, as chief executive Peter Chadlington said he would acclerate rebranding plans to reverse this performance from 2011 onwards.
Huntsworth has been busy consolidating 26 brands into just four divisions: Huntsworth Healthcare, Citigate, Grayling and Red. Grayling, which is the amalgamation of a number of brands including Mmd and Trimedia, will account for 44 per cent of sales, while Huntsworth Health, which serves healthcare clients, will account for 29 per cent of group sales. In the current reporting format, public relations revenues fell 8.4 per cent to £54.3m, while Huntsworth Health has grown revenues 7.9 per cent to £22.3m.
Restructuring costs of £5.3m, and £2.4m in amortisation charges, held back profits. But the programme will be complete by the end of 2009, and should allow the company to compete more effectively on global pitches. Management's believes these actions will increase its organic revenue growth rate to between 7 and 8 per cent - from 4 per cent typically - from 2011 onwards.
With 90 per cent of full-year revenues committed, Mr Chadlington says he "feels positive" on the rest of the year. Analysts at KBC Peel Hunt are expecting full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of £22.8m, giving adjusted EPS of 7.6p (2008: 8.7p).
HUNTSWORTH (HNT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 64p | MARKET VALUE: | £134.9m | |
| TOUCH: | 63-65.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 71p | LOW: 20p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.3% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 85p* | NET DEBT: | 22% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 107 | 10.4 | 0.5 | 0.70 |
| 2009 | 100 | 1.46 | 0.1 | 0.75 |
| % change | - | - | - | +7 |
Ex-div: 30 Sep Payment: 6 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £250m, or 118p per share | ||||
