Last year, British Polythene Industries (BPI) suffered from a huge price increase in its core raw material polymer as well as an £8.5m jump in its fuel costs. Though it managed to pass some of this on to customers it still suffered as operating profits (before restructuring costs) dropped 14 per cent to £12.6m.
Falling sales to the construction market has forced BPI to seek capacity reductions which led to the closure of its manufacturing sites in Stockton and Essex. Net restructuring costs totalled £5.4m with the full benefits expected in 2010. Total volumes shipped fell 3 per cent to 305,000 tonnes, but fortunately the customer base spans defensive sectors, such as agriculture, food and healthcare - almost 70 per cent of sales are into these areas. BPI expects sales here to be maintained at last year's levels and with polymer and energy prices lower this year this provides a degree of comfort.
Investec predicts 2009 adjusted pre-tax profits of £9.5m, EPS of 26.1p (23p in 2008) and a dividend of 11p.
| ORD PRICE: | 138p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 36.6m | |
| TOUCH: | 137-139p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 264p | LOW:136p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 10.5% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 199p | NET DEBT: | 143% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 359 | 11.0 | 31.5 | 21.0 |
| 2005 | 410 | 19.7 | 55.2 | 22.0 |
| 2006 | 414 | 14.0 | 38.8 | 22.0 |
| 2007 | 424 | 11.5 | 32.4 | 22.0 |
| 2008 | 481 | 3.9 | 10.7 | 14.5 |
| % change | +13 | -66 | -67 | -34 |
Ex-div:11 Mar Payment:21 Jul | ||||
