Digital communications group Next Fifteen (NFC) saw organic sales grow just 1 per cent at the full-year stage and the company was also hit by an employee fraud that cost it $2.8m (£1.8m). Still, on an adjusted basis - which strips out the fraud-related cost - pre-tax profit grew 14 per cent year-on-year to £9.6m.
Within the company's individual business segments, the core technology public relations (PR) business - which generates 66 per cent of total sales - saw sales rise just 2 per cent. And the consumer PR unit suffered a 6 per cent sales fall in the period. Although that was offset to some extent by higher value business in the corporate communications division, where sales rose 31 per cent to £6.6m - helped by acquisitions. Significantly, management pointed out that the group's digital businesses experienced growth of 67 per cent - well above the group's overall sales growth. The fraud, meanwhile, was perpetrated by a staff member in San Francisco - that's being investigated by the FBI and management think it's too early to say how much may be recovered.
Broker Peel Hunt expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £10.7m for 2013, giving adjusted EPS of 11.1p (from £9.6m and 10.1p in 2012).
NEXT FIFTEEN COMMUNICATIONS (NFC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 101p | MARKET VALUE: | £59m | |
| TOUCH: | 99-102p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 109p | LOW: 85p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60p* | NET DEBT: | 7% | |
| Year to 31 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 63.1 | 5.50 | 7.10 | 1.70 |
| 2009 | 65.4 | 3.16 | 3.70 | 1.70 |
| 2010 | 72.3 | 5.30 | 6.80 | 1.85 |
| 2011 | 86.0 | 7.53 | 9.10 | 2.05 |
| 2012 | 91.6 | 5.96 | 6.85 | 2.30 |
| % change | +6 | -21 | -25 | +12 |
Ex-div: 9 Jan Payment: 8 Feb *Includes intangible assets of £41m, or 70p a share | ||||
