Morgan Sindall's (MGNS) shares fell 9 per cent on the back of these full-year figures after the construction and regeneration specialist cut its dividend. Moreover, and while underlying profits rose 4 per cent to £47.1m, that was flattered by disposal gains of £5.7m and failed to include £10m of restructuring costs. Trading remained tough, too, although the forward order book held up well at £3.1bn, against £3.4bn a year earlier.
The affordable housing side suffered most from the downturn in activity. Operating profit there dropped 38 per cent to £11.5m and the divisional operating margin fell a percentage point to 3 per cent as new-build social housing suffered. Moreover, the fit-out side saw operating profit drop 9 per cent to £11.3m, while the operating margin was a shade lower at 2.6 per cent. Yet, despite a squeeze on public sector spending and a weak private sector, the construction and infrastructure division maintained margins, albeit at a wafer-thin 1.7 per cent - although a fall in turnover left operating profits here 7 per cent lower at £19.7m. Company founder John Morgan, who returned as chief executive in November, sees little prospect of an early improvement in the trading environment.
Numis Securities has trimmed its forecasts for 2013 and expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £35m, with EPS of 62.1p (£47.1m and 79.3p in 2012).
| MORGAN SINDALL (MGNS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 522p | MARKET VALUE: | £226m | |
| TOUCH: | 520-532p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 717p | LOW: 500p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.2% | PE RATIO: | 7 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 578p* | NET CASH: | £50m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2.55 | 62.3 | 106 | 42.0 |
| 2009 | 2.21 | 44.7 | 77.9 | 42.0 |
| 2010 | 2.10 | 40.7 | 70.5 | 42.0 |
| 2011 | 2.23 | 40.0 | 77.5 | 42.0 |
| 2012 | 2.05 | 34.2 | 72.5 | 27.0 |
| % change | -8 | -15 | -6 | -36 |
Ex-div: 1 May Payment: 24 May *Includes intangible assets of £223m, or 517p a share | ||||
