Shares in machinery engineer Molins hit a 12-month high on strong full-year figures which showed improvements across all three of the company's divisions, thereby facilitating a rise in the year-end payout to shareholders. It also prompted analysts Michael O'Brien at broker Collins Stewart to upgrade his 2012 adjusted EPS estimates 15 per cent to 17.7p (18.3p in 2011).
The Milton Keynes-based company boosted underlying profits – before exceptionals and net pension financing – by a quarter to £4.5m. Increased activity in Molins' growing North African and Middle Eastern markets contributed to 5 per cent sales rise in both the packaging and tobacco machinery divisions. While these units entered the current year with enhanced order books, much attention will be focused on the growth within Molins' scientific services business.
This is because the division's Arista Laboratories has been investing heavily to take advantage of a tightening in regulations governing the American tobacco industry that are being put in place by the US Food & Drug Administration. Admittedly, the likely extent of these benefits will not become apparent before 2013, but Molins' finance director David Cowen is confident that "the bulk of the new testing requirements will be outsourced by the tobacco industry".
| MOLINS (MLIN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 120p | MARKET VALUE: | £24m | |
| TOUCH: | 119-121p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 121p | LOW: 72p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.4% | PE RATIO: | 3 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 203p* | NET CASH: | £7.1m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 89.3 | 7.4 | 29.7 | 7.00 |
| 2008 | 91.5 | 8.8 | 35.2 | 5.00 |
| 2009 | 83.8 | 2.1 | 6.3 | 9.00 |
| 2010 | 86.4 | 4.1 | 15.3 | 5.00 |
| 2011 | 89.9 | 10.4 | 37.4 | 5.25 |
| % change | +4 | +154 | +144 | +5 |
Ex-div: 18 Apr Payment: 11 May *Includes intangible assets of £14.9m, or 74p a share. | ||||
