It was very much a tale of two halves for niche plastic products manufacturer Plastics Capital (PLA) over the year to 31 March. Adjusted pre-tax profits fell 6 per cent in the first half, but recovered strongly in the second half - surging 27 per cent - to end the year up 9 per cent.
Sales growth was also far from uniform across the group. The largest division - plastic bearings - suffered the second disappointing year in a row, with turnover down 8 per cent. Meanwhile, sales at the Bell Plastics division, which sells specialist plastics for hoses and ropes, climbed 39 per cent year on year.
Analysts at Allenby Capital forecast 28 per cent growth in adjusted pre-tax profit this year, helped by the small acquisition of a Chinese cardboard creasing company in March and a recovering European economy. They forecast adjusted EPS of 13p this year and 14.8p next year.
The big difference between Plastics' adjusted and basic EPS figures is worth noting, however. In the year just ended they were 11.1p and 3.2p respectively, with the difference made up of amortisation of goodwill, acquisition and legal fees, redundancy and recruitment costs, bank refinancing costs, and "company set-up costs". It is questionable whether all these costs should be considered exceptional.
PLASTICS CAPITAL (PLA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 138p | MARKET VALUE: | £42m | |
| TOUCH: | 135-140p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 143p | LOW: 97p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 43 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 76p* | NET DEBT: | 31% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 26.7 | 1.8 | 7.2 | nil |
| 2011 | 33.5 | 3.6 | 11.4 | nil |
| 2012 | 32.1 | 1.5 | 6.2 | 1.0 |
| 2013 | 31.4 | 1.1 | 4.9 | 2.0 |
| 2014 | 32.5 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 3.0 |
| % change | +4 | -9 | -35 | +50 |
Ex-div: 16 Jul Payment: 15 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £20.7m, or 69p a share | ||||
