Exhibitions group ITE (ITE) has continued to expand. Alongside these full-year figures, the group announced the purchase of a 28.3 per cent stake in Asian Business Exhibitions & Conferences (ABEC) for £14m - further boosting ITE's Asian presence. ABEC is the largest private exhibition organiser in India, with an 8 per cent market share, and broker N+1 Singer reckons the deal will mean a decent earnings boost for ITE from 2014 onwards.
ITE's biennial events schedule left the year's performance looker weaker than last year's - although previous acquisitions meant the group still delivered decent growth. Indeed, ITE's performance would have been better still had Mosbuild - ITE's main construction event in Moscow - not needed to relocate. Extra costs there helped squeeze the group gross margin by 3 percentage points to 45.1 per cent. Russia now generates 61 per cent of group revenue, although gains made in the country's regions were offset by greater competition in the capital. Beyond Russia, the Central Asia and Caucasus region is ITE's fastest-growing market and sales there jumped 24 per cent, to £27m.
ITE has already booked £95m of revenues for 2013 and N+1 Singer expects full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £58.5m, giving an EPS of 18.3p (from £53m and 16.9p in 2012).
ITE (ITE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 214p | MARKET VALUE: | £533m | |
| TOUCH: | 213-214p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 246p | LOW: 173p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3% | PE RATIO: | 16 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 37p* | NET CASH: | £13m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 110 | 34.4 | 9.4 | 5.30 |
| 2009 | 117 | 41.5 | 12.8 | 5.50 |
| 2010 | 114 | 31.3 | 10.0 | 5.70 |
| 2011 | 155 | 39.1 | 12.8 | 6.10 |
| 2012 | 172 | 40.5 | 13.0 | 6.50 |
| % change | +11 | +4 | +2 | +7 |
Ex-div: 2 Jan Payment: 11 Feb *Includes intangible assets of £131m, or 53p a share | ||||
