Acquisitions and a robust position within its key geographies helped exhibitions specialist ITE to generate £156.2m of revenue between end-September 2011 and 18 May 2012 – on an underlying basis, that's 6 per cent ahead of last year and represents 92 per cent of broker Investec's full-year revenue forecast of £169m. Although currency tailwinds could hit earnings going forward, leaving the shares up with events.
A series of acquisitions made last year have added £11.6m to headline sales and the group has since acquired two events in Ukraine and another two in India. That said, growth is still being spearheaded by Russia, where volumes have grown 14 per cent on a like-for-like basis – accordingly, sales from the region rose 51 per cent to £40.3m. Central Asia and Caucasus have also performed well, with sales growing 13 per cent to £11.6m, buoyed by the Kazakhstan International Oil & Gas Exhibition, which was held in October. Indeed, the strength in these two regions has helped to mask flat growth in western and southern Europe and the UK.
Investec Securities, however, expects a largely flat full-year pre-tax profit of £52.1m, giving EPS of 16.5p (£51.4m and 16.5p in 2011) – on the back of currency tailwinds.
ITE GROUP (ITE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 201p | MARKET VALUE: | £502m | |
| TOUCH: | 200-202p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 252p | LOW: 155p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.1% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 30p* | NET CASH: | £16.4m | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 53.0 | 3.52 | 1.1 | 1.9 |
| 2012 | 68.6 | 6.33 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| % change | +29 | +80 | +91 | +11 |
Ex-div: 4 Jul Payment: 9 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £131.6m, or 53p a share | ||||
