Lottery and gaming group Sportech managed an essentially flat half-year performance - with cash profits up just 2 per cent year on year to £12.6m. That said, management's turnaround plan is making progress - net debt, for example, has almost halved since 2009. But, after rising 50 per cent since late December, the shares now look up with events.
The football pools business saw sales fall 8 per cent to £21.7m, but cost-cutting kept profits flat at £8.7m. However, that masked a 15 per cent higher spend per customer as Sportech focused on selling more to existing customers. Meanwhile, sales at Sportech racing, which handles half of all US horse-racing bets, grew 5 per cent to £33.6m, with profits a touch higher at £5m as contracts were renewed or extended with 16 tracks. Regulatory change is still progressing slowly, however - although management hopes to develop more off-track betting facilities this year. In the e-gaming business, the completion of a software migration and better marketing meant gross win rose 30 per cent to £2.6m, despite a 14 per cent slide in active players to 16,600.
Broker Investec Securities expects full-year pre-tax profit of £14.6m, giving EPS of 5.4p (from £15.8m and 5.7p in 2011).
SPORTECH (SPO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 60p | MARKET VALUE: | £71.3m | |
| TOUCH: | 59-61p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 62p | LOW: 38p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 24 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 113p* | NET DEBT: | 40% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 57.4 | 3.70 | 1.20 | nil |
| 2012 | 57.7 | 3.20 | 1.10 | nil |
| % change | +1 | -14 | -8 | - |
Ex-div: - Payment: - *Includes intangible assets of £196m, or 165p a share | ||||
