Unlike many revolutionary tech products sold by Aim companies, Quartix's (QTX) subscription-based vehicle tracking systems are both easy to understand and flying off the shelf. In the first six months of 2015, Quartix saw strong customer growth across all the territories it sells to, reflecting solid expansion in the UK as well as in the highly prized French and US markets.
Domestically, sales grew 23 per cent to £8.6m on the back of 7,584 new vehicle installations, up 16 per cent year on year. This helped to grow the global fleet subscription base by 12 per cent to 66,806, including nearly 7,000 active subscriptions in France (an increase of almost a third) and 2,000 in the US (up 273 per cent). Sales to insurance-based customers, while less profitable, are also booming, with installations and revenue up 64 per cent and 43 per cent, respectively.
Quartix's expansion plans are reliant on good cash conversion, and fortunately this is another strength of the business: post-tax cash flow was £2.5m, allowing the company to announce a maiden interim dividend of 2p a share, following the 3p paid in May.
Broker FinnCap is forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits of £5.5m this year, translating into EPS of 9.4p, up from £4.8m (8.4p) in the year ending December 2014.
QUARTIX (QTX) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 219p | MARKET VALUE: | £102.9m | |
| TOUCH: | 213-225p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 234p | LOW: 116p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 28p* | NET CASH: | £0.82m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 7.4 | 3.1 | 5.40 | nil |
| 2015 | 9.2 | 2.7 | 4.74 | 2.0 |
| % change | +24 | -13 | -12 | - |
Ex-div: 20 Aug Payment: 24 Sep *Includes intangible assets of £14m, or 30p a share | ||||
