Healthcare software provider EMIS (EMIS) delivered £26m of adjusted operating profit last year, a 14 per cent rise, driven by strong demand from the primary and community care markets. But almost £1m came from acquisitions, the lion's share from Ascribe, a healthcare systems business bought in September.
Ascribe was "the only game in town," says chief executive Chris Spencer. More than two-thirds of the UK’s NHS hospital trusts and boards use its products, and 18 per cent of its recurring revenues is generated in Australasia. That opens up both cross-selling opportunities and foreign markets for EMIS, which expects £0.5m of savings at Ascribe this year.
But helping hospitals, pharmacies and clinics share medical records and data delivered organic growth of 10 per cent, too, and strong licensing, hosting and maintenance sales were behind a 17 per cent rise in recurring revenue to £81m, or over three-quarters of all sales. The number of UK GPs using its latest software platform, EMIS Web, also doubled to over 3,300, roughly a third of the total market.
Broker Panmure Gordon expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £34.2m this year, giving adjusted EPS of 42.3p (from £30.2m and 41.8p in 2013).
| EMIS (EMIS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 615p | MARKET VALUE: | £389m | |
| TOUCH: | 608-615p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 860p | LOW: 535p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.6% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 158p* | NET DEBT: | 13% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 57.7 | 14.5 | 19.9 | nil |
| 2010 | 61.9 | 18.1 | 23.3 | 11.2 |
| 2011 | 73.2 | 21.4 | 28.7 | 12.4 |
| 2012 | 86.3 | 24.1 | 32.5 | 14.2 |
| 2013 | 106.0 | 24.6 | 32.6 | 16.0 |
| % change | +23 | +2 | - | +13 |
Ex-div: 9 Apr Payment: 2 May *Includes intangible assets of £127m, or 201p a share | ||||
