After numerous delays, high-tech plastics company Carclo's (CAR) conductive ink-jet technology (CIT) division has shipped its first commercial touchscreen products, and a $10m (£6.4m) pre-payment from partner Atmel is in the bank. Analysts expect a significant contribution this year and both revenue and profit to double the year after.
Carclo's XSense sensor has already been used in the Asus MeMO tablet and an unnamed Asian-built smartphone. It's being designed into a number of products with several top-tier customers, too, as high-volume programmes prepare for launch in the second half of 2013. A new facility in Cambridge has capacity to support $200m of revenue from Atmel, a quarter of which would go to Carclo. Analysts at N+1 Singer expect £11m of CIT revenue and £4.5m of profit this year, compared with £0.7m and break-even in 2013. The year after they think it will be £22m and £9m.
Exiting the automotive antennae business trimmed group revenue, but operating profit of £7.7m still met forecasts despite a combination of start-up issues on new programmes and discounting at the technical plastics division. However, a new facility and better utilisation should help there, and the diagnostic solutions operation is tipped to sign commercial partnerships with medical device manufacturers within 12 months. Carclo's successful supercar LED lighting business is currently pitching for more lucrative work, too.
N+1 Singer expects current-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £10.1m and EPS of 12.2p, up from £5.7m and 7.3p in 2013.
CARCLO (CAR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 373p | MARKET VALUE: | £243m | |
| TOUCH: | 372-374p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 510p | LOW: 340p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.7% | PE RATIO: | 57 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE | 98p* | NET DEBT: | 14% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 87.4 | 3.65 | 5.1 | 2.00 |
| 2010 | 81.2 | 4.62 | 5.9 | 2.00 |
| 2011 | 88.6 | 6.77 | 9.6 | 2.20 |
| 2012 | 93.3 | 5.50 | 7.5 | 2.40 |
| 2013 | 86.5 | 5.01 | 6.6 | 2.55 |
| % change | -7 | -9 | -12 | +6 |
Ex-div: 28 Aug Payment: 4 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £44.5m, or 68p a share | ||||
