Berendsen reaped the rewards of last year's restructuring with cash flow, profit margins and underlying sales all moving in the right direction during a solid first half. Chief executive Peter Ventress said the restructuring was now largely complete as he announced adjusted pre-tax profits up 6 per cent to £51.5m, and free cash flow up almost a fifth to £44.7m, allowing an 8 per cent increase in the interim dividend. The results came in slightly ahead of market expectations and broker Panmure Gordon expects full-year adjusted EPS to rise to 50.65p, up from 48.4p last year.
Reported sales were hit by currency weakness in Europe, but adjusting for this and the impact of acquisitions, underlying sales were up 2 per cent driven by a good performance in the Swedish and Dutch workwear business. The group's facility division continues to provide the most exciting prospects and management said contract wins in the mat and washroom business are ahead of expectations. So, although revenues rose a modest 2 per cent to £106m, adjusted operating profit ramped ahead by 11 per cent to £25.7m as margins improved, reflecting the high operating leverage of this business. In fact, margins increased across all areas of the business.
BERENDSEN (BRSN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 525p | MARKET VALUE: | £902m | |
| TOUCH: | 523.5-525p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 549p | LOW: 403p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.6% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 254p* | NET DEBT: | 115% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 496 | 30.4 | 12.9 | 7.4 |
| 2012 | 488 | 39.6 | 17.1 | 8.0 |
| % change | -2 | +30 | +33 | +8 |
Ex-div: 12 Sep Payment: 11 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £475m, or 108p a share | ||||
