Strip out a pensions credit and pre-tax profits rose 6 per cent in the period to £15.5m. Although there was a mixed performance divisionally - overall the education resources side did well, but that was offset by softness in the unit's education software business.
Still, prospects look good. Education has emerged a winner when it comes to government spending - second only to health - following last month's Comprehensive Spending Review. Indeed, total education spend will rise 2.8 per cent over each of the next three years. And RM has moved into clear leadership as a bidder for projects under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, worth £45bn over the next 10-15 years. About £5bn of that will go on RM's sector - information and communications technology. In the past year, RM has won five of the nine projects on offer and seven out of 18 contracts so far. There's a short-term penalty in that bid costs will amount to £4.3m next year, but forward visibility is improving with committed revenues up from £240m to £330m. And RM is looking for more bolt-on acquisitions and geographic expansion.
W.H. Ireland expects pre-tax profits of £17.2m for 2008, EPS of 13.4p.
RM (RM.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 198p | MARKET VALUE: | £183m | |
| TOUCH: | 193-198p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 225p | LOW: 170p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.8% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 63p* | NET CASH: | £27.4m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 215 | 6.22 | 5.20 | 4.35 |
| 2004 | 263 | 7.05 | 4.38 | 4.60 |
| 2005 | 263 | 5.46 | 2.30 | 4.85 |
| 2006 | 262 | 14.5 | 11.6 | 5.17 |
| 2007 | 271 | 18.4 | 14.6 | 5.49 |
| % change | +3 | +27 | +26 | +6 |
Ex-div: 2 Jan Payment: 1 Feb *Includes intangible assets of £30.3m, or 33p a share | ||||
