Recruitment group SThree announced a further hefty hike in net fee income (NFI) in the year - up 17.5 per cent to £195.5m. What's more, management says that the circumstances behind the 11p special dividend payout were not unique - implying that further payouts could be possible.
Particularly robust progress was delivered internationally, with new offices opened in such locations as Doha, Sao Paulo and Moscow. SThree now has 60 offices in 17 countries and overseas NFI represents 63 per cent of the total - up from 59 per cent in 2010. Moreover, sales-staff headcount grew 22 per cent year-on-year to 2,272 and the group's permanent placement business placed 13.5 per cent more staff than a year earlier, with average fees there growing strongly. The number of active contractors rose 7.6 per cent in the year, too, and the NFI split between contract and permanent business stands at 48 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively. Contract margins held up well, too - 21.4 per cent compared to 21.6 per cent last year.
Broker Investec Securities expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £27m for 2012, giving adjusted EPS of 14.9p (£30.3m and 16.4p in 2011).
STHREE (STHR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 255p | MARKET VALUE: | £305m | |
| TOUCH: | 255-258p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 430p | LOW: 195p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.5%* | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 69p | NET CASH: | £55.6m | |
| Year to 27 Nov | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 523 | 50.3 | 25.2 | 9.3 |
| 2008 | 632 | 54.1 | 28.8 | 12.0 |
| 2009 | 519 | 8.93 | 4.00 | 12.0 |
| 2010 | 475 | 21.6 | 11.9 | 12.0 |
| 2011 | 543 | 30.3 | 16.8 | 14.0* |
| % change | +14 | +40 | +41 | +17 |
Ex-div: 2 May Payment: 6 Jun *Excludes 11p special dividend | ||||
