The lower cost of manufacturing photo kiosks resulted in a £5.2m fall in depreciation charges, which explains the group's profit hike in the year, but on a cash basis profits fell 7 per cent to £44m. The company has a decent cash pile, though, which combined with a healthy dividend makes the shares attractive.
The main photo kiosk business performed fairly well - sales here rose slightly, to £178m, while profits advanced 19 per cent in the period to £25.1m. Indeed, good results from France, Germany and Switzerland offset disappointing UK figures, where Photo-Me lost part of its business for supplying driving licence photographs. Meanwhile, sales at the smaller sales & servicing division fell from £43m to £30m as large companies proved unwilling to invest in new equipment in the current uncertain conditions - accordingly, last year's £500,000 profit was turned into a £2.4m loss. Broker Hardman expects "serious cost-cutting" this year, and another divisional loss.
Management anticipates "further progress" in 2012-13 - although a weak Euro could impact the performance given that Continental Europe, including the Eurozone, generates nearly 70 per cent of profits. Hardman, meanwhile, expects pre-tax profit of £20.1m for 2013, with EPS of 4.4p.
PHOTO-ME INTERNATIONAL (PHTM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 41.3p | MARKET VALUE: | £150m | |
| TOUCH: | 41.23-42p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 67p | LOW: 36.25p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 6.1% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 26p* | NET CASH: | £51.8m | |
| Year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 194 | -14.6 | -5.52 | 2.40 |
| 2009 | 211 | -5.10 | -4.34 | nil |
| 2010 | 223 | 9.30 | 2.70 | 1.25 |
| 2011 | 220 | 18.0 | 3.77 | 2.00 |
| 2012 | 208 | 20.1 | 3.97 | 2.50 |
| % change | -5 | +12 | +5 | +25 |
Ex-div:26 September Payment:07 November *Includes intangible assets of £18.9m, or 5p a share | ||||
