Stanley Gibbons' move to capitalise on the growing market for stamps and collectibles online and overseas to drive growth is clearly paying off. Internet sales increased by 90 per cent to £1.3m in the first half and chief executive Michael Hall notes the huge growth potential in this area given eBay's $268m (£172m) online stamp market.
Tapping into Asian demand is also a key growth driver and Stanley Gibbons' Hong Kong Office, which only opened in September, reported profits of £300,000 on sales of £1.3m, including £500,000 of sales in Olympics-related products to the Chinese market alone. Demand for rare stamps from Chinese investors doubled in the period. And although traditional stamp sales were down 8 per cent to £10.3m, this was more than offset by strong demand from high net worth individuals buying higher margin items, which meant operating profits here actually rose a fifth to £2.55m.
Stock levels rose by £8.9m to £24.5m in preparation for a stamp investment fund due to be launched in October which bodes well for the second half performance. House broker Peel Hunt forecast full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of £5.5m and EPS of 19p, up from £5.1m and 18.3p, respectively, last year.
STANLEY GIBBONS (SGI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 219p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 55.4m | |
| TOUCH: | 215-222p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 237p | LOW: 164p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.9% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 98p | NET DEBT: | 8% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Net div per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15.0 | 1.65 | 5.88 | 2.50 |
| 2012 | 14.7 | 1.79 | 6.53 | 2.75 |
| % change | -2 | +8 | +11 | +10 |
Ex-div:24 Aug Payment:01 Oct | ||||
