A change of name, four new fund managers and a string of successful product re-launches seem to have worked wonders for Miton Group (MGR) - formerly MAM Funds. The fund management group celebrated a return to profitability last year with an increased dividend payout and a 44 per cent jump in generated cash.
Funds under management grew 7.2 per cent in the period to £1.79bn and, crucially, there was a £63m net fund inflow - which helped boost net revenue, after fees and commission expenses, by 3.6 per cent to £11.6m. Moreover, while administrative costs grew 4.9 per cent, which included new hirings, rigorous cost controls left the cost-to-income ratio only marginally up, from 66.1 per cent to 66.3 per cent. Indeed, there's something reassuringly old fashioned about the group's investment strategy. Managing director Gervais Williams stresses the need to pick the right stocks over the right trend in order to maximise longer-term returns - nearly half the portfolio is invested in equities.
Peel Hunt expects adjusted pre-tax profit for 2013 of £3.4m, giving adjusted EPS of 1.9p, (from £3.9m and 2.5p in 2012).
| MITON (MGR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 35p | MARKET VALUE: | £37m | |
| TOUCH: | 34-36p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 36p | LOW: 19p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.8% | PE RATIO: | 31 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 38p* | NET CASH: | £12m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 19.3 | -56.7 | -109 | nil |
| 2009 | 17.5 | -2.25 | -3.20 | nil |
| 2010 | 20.4 | -1.28 | -1.79 | nil |
| 2011 | 21.4 | -0.43 | 0.06 | 0.40 |
| 2012 | 22.3 | 0.91 | 0.80 | 0.45 |
| % change | +4 | - | +1233 | +13 |
Ex-div: 27 Mar Payment: 20 May *Includes intangible assets of £48m, or 32p a share | ||||
