Strong demand for EMIS 's software - used by nearly 6,000 GPs, pharmacies and other healthcare providers to store and share their patients’ information - and a string of savvy acquisitions helped the group increase its operating profit by 7 per cent in the first half.
Last year the group bought diabetic eye-screening specialist Digital Healthcare and healthcare-software provider Ascribe. Strip these out, however, and sales were still up 10 per cent. The company's cash generation was also so strong that it paid off virtually all the debt taken on to fund the deals. The July purchase of Indigo 4, which provides messaging and communication services to healthcare providers, should support further gains.
EMIS rolled out data-sharing platform EMIS Web to 424 more GP practices, taking the product’s total user base to over 3,750 - more than four-fifths of the group's total GP estate. It also made strides in the pharmacy division, widening its share of UK high-street drugstores to 35.7 per cent. That growth could accelerate once it deploys new software targeted at supermarket-style pharmacies such as Boots and Lloyds Pharmacy. EMIS's child and mental health segment also played a vital role by winning contracts worth over £6m in Blackpool, Leeds and elsewhere.
Broker Panmure Gordon expects full-year pre-tax profits of £34.7m, giving EPS of 41.8p, up from £30.2m and 39.7p in 2013.
| EMIS (EMIS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 737p | MARKET VALUE: | £467m | |
| TOUCH: | 737-751p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 780p | LOW: 535p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 163p* | NET DEBT: | nil | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 47.1 | 12.0 | 15.6 | 8.0 |
| 2014 | 66.4 | 12.6 | 15.2 | 9.2 |
| % change | +41 | +5 | -3 | +15 |
Ex-div: 24 Sep Payment: 31 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £127m, or 200p a share | ||||
