Higher sales to IT and automotive customers helped Laird grow sales. There is, however, much still to do if incoming chief executive David Lockwood is to hit full-year targets. Successfully launching new products over the next few months will be crucial and, for now, the shares could tread water.
Superficially, there appeared little to justify a 12 per cent surge in the share price on the back of these figures. Underlying revenue fell 4 per cent and the performance materials division was flat; a big increase in sales of its shielding technology for smartphones and tablet devices was offset by subdued demand for thermoelectric cooling used in telecoms base stations. Still, bandwidth constraints “can’t go on forever,” argues chairman Nigel Keen, and things should pick-up in the second half. Laird has already seen an demand uplift, while capacity expansion to cope with an expected rush of orders from the likes of Apple and Samsung is on track. And selling antennae for police cars and gaming consoles bolstered both sales and margins at the wireless systems division, with a little help from Emerson & Cuming and Summit Data Communications, bought in March for £31.6m.
Investec Securities expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £60.5m in 2012, giving EPS of 18.4p (2011: £52.6m/16.3p last year).
LAIRD (LRD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 207p | MARKET VALUE: | £551.7m | |
| TOUCH: | 206-207p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 223p | Low: 124p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.2% | PE RATIO: | 50 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 166p* | NET DEBT: | 31% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 150 | 17.5 | -42.6 | 2.7 |
| 2012 | 152 | 18.4 | 6.30 | 3.4 |
| % change | +1 | +5 | - | +26 |
Ex-div: 31 Oct Payment: 30 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £543m, or 204p per share | ||||
