Booker (BOK) is a company you can count on. Having returned £61m to shareholders last year, the food wholesaler has kept its word and will return more cash to investors this July. This time the special dividend is worth 3.5p a share, or £62m in total. The group has said it hopes to repeat the payout next year, too.
The group is, in effect, handing back money it took three years ago: in July 2012 Booker tapped investors for £124m to buy the lossmaking Makro chain from German food retail giant Metro. Last year's like-for-like sales growth of 3 per cent excludes Makro, but Booker said the acquired business had already made a good contribution and would help the company reach its target of £6bn in group sales in the next few years.
Booker now hopes to repeat something of its success with Makro by snapping up grocery chains Londis and Budgens through the £40m acquisition of Musgrave Retail Partners. The deal will be financed out of group cash and will expand Booker's footprint in the south-east of England.
Analysts at Investec expect pre-tax profits of £154m this financial year, giving EPS of 7.1p, up from £139m and 6.6p in FY2015.
BOOKER (BOK) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 170p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.98bn | |
TOUCH: | 169.9-170p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 173p | LOW: 115p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 25 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 34p* | NET CASH: | £147m |
Year to 27 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 3.60 | 71 | 3.9 | 1.67 |
2012 | 3.93 | 91 | 4.8 | 2.28 |
2013 | 3.99 | 92 | 4.5 | 2.63 |
2014 | 4.68 | 122 | 6.1 | 3.20 |
2015 | 4.75 | 139 | 6.7 | 3.66 |
% change | +1 | +14 | +11 | +14 |
Ex-div: 11 Jun Payment: 10 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £440m, or 25p a share |