Profits and margins took another hit last year at building services group T Clarke, although there are signs that the current cycle may be bottoming out. Forward orders remained steady at £190m and, even though the dividend has been slashed, it is now well covered by earnings. Meanwhile the shares, which now trade on just four times earnings, are unlikely to fall much further.
Still, these figures aren't pretty. Adjust for a one-off £2.1m gain on a land and property sale, as well as various amortisation and non-recurring costs, and underlying operating profit fell 34 per cent in 2011 to £4.8m. The operating margin slumped from 4.1 to 2.6 per cent, too. Admittedly, tax earnings did rise marginally to £4.01m, but only because of tax allowances relating to the property sale. Meanwhile, at T Clarke's regional divisions, revenue in the south rose 4.7 per cent to £117.1m – which included a full-year's contribution from DG Robson Mechanical Services – although restructuring costs pulled operating profits there back from £4.8m to £1.7m. Operating profit at the northern division fell from £2.2m to £1.9m, while the Scottish operation halved its operating loss to £0.7m.
| T CLARKE (CTO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 43p | MARKET VALUE: | £17.8m | |
| TOUCH: | 42-44p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 107p | LOW: 35p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 7% | PE RATIO: | 4 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 63p* | NET CASH: | £0.6m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 194 | 8.17 | 14.30 | 12.0 |
| 2008 | 220 | 13.40 | 22.20 | 13.0 |
| 2009 | 176 | 7.28 | 10.00 | 13.0 |
| 2010 | 179 | 5.74 | 8.91 | 8.5 |
| 2011 | 184 | 4.90 | 9.69 | 3.0 |
| % change | +3 | -15 | +9 | -65 |
Ex-div: 18 Apr Payment: 18 May *Includes intangible assets of £24m, or 58p a share | ||||
