Currency headwinds dogged the second half for medical devices outfit Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS). Group revenues were up 6 per cent, but at constant currencies this would have been closer to 9 per cent. Similarly, sales of the group's 'branded direct' products - those sold through in-house salesforces in the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic - grew 3 per cent to £23.6m, but 6 per cent at constant currency.
The biggest culprit was the weakening rouble. Russian sales of Resorba products, which were acquired in 2011, fell 18 per cent to £1.3m at reported currencies, but rose 4 per cent on an underlying basis.
The group had a good year in the US. As part of its branded distributed division - which sells products through third-party distributors - sales of surgical glue LiquiBand grew 43 per cent at constant currencies to £4.1m. This pushed AMS's total US market share up towards 9 per cent - almost halfway towards the group's goal of 20 per cent.
Brokerage Numis expects pre-tax profits of £16.9m this year, giving EPS of 6.6p, up from £15.6m and 6.3p, respectively, in 2014.
| ADVANCED MEDICAL SOLUTIONS (AMS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 145p | MARKET VALUE: | £301m | |
| TOUCH: | 144-145p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 145p | LOW: 108p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 45p* | NET CASH: | £17.3m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 31.9 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 0.38 |
| 2011 | 34.3 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 0.45 |
| 2012 | 52.6 | 10.8 | 4.8 | 0.52 |
| 2013 | 59.5 | 13.1 | 5.5 | 0.6 |
| 2014 | 63.0 | 15.2 | 6.2 | 0.7 |
| % change | +6 | +16 | +13 | +17 |
Ex-div: 6 May Payment: 29 May *Includes intangible assets of £38.5m, or 19p a share | ||||
