Luxury tableware and bakeware manufacturer Portmeirion makes most of its money in the second half, because this includes Christmas - but the group delivered solid progress in the first half, too. Non-executive chairman Dick Steele also confirmed an encouraging second-half order book which, when added to the decent dividend, makes the shares look attractive.
True, sales in North America - 40 per cent of group turnover - fell 5 per cent in the period, although expectations for the rest of the year are positive. But the UK operation - which accounts for 25 per cent of group sales - delivered robust growth, with sales up 14 per cent, helped partly by the diamond jubilee. This more than offset a 4 per cent fall in South Korea - 20 per cent of group sales - but full-year revenue there is expected to be up on last year. Sales elsewhere were mixed, with weakness in Italy countered by continued progress in Hungary and Norway.
Mr Steele also confirmed that he's comfortable with forecasts from broker Seymour Pierce for full-year pre-tax profits of £6.7m and EPS of 46.6p (£6.3m and 43.9p for 2011).
| PORTMEIRION (PMP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 489p | MARKET VALUE: | £49.9m | |
| TOUCH: | 480-495p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 530p | LOW: 412p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.1% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 237p | NET CASH: | £3.3m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 22.3 | 1.38 | 9.23 | 3.90 |
| 2012 | 22.8 | 1.46 | 10.2 | 4.50 |
| % change | +2 | +6 | +11 | +15 |
Ex-div: 5 Sep Payment: 1 Oct | ||||
