Never mind double-digit earnings per share growth, what most pleased Craneware (CRW) chief executive Keith Neilson about last year's financial performance was "the anticipated emergence of a high-growth financial analytics and performance market". In other words, hospitals and other healthcare providers in the US are finally starting to cotton on to both the importance of accurate financial data when treating patients and the ways Craneware's software can help them to bring down spiralling costs.
Given that seismic shift, you might expect the Edinburgh-based company's annual results to be even stronger. Recurring revenue increased in absolute dollar terms, but the gross profit margin remained stable at 95 per cent, and the total value of contracts signed edged up just 2.7 per cent to $72.9m (£47.4m).
What is particularly strong about Craneware is its cash generation, which stood at 153 per cent of adjusted cash profit for the year. This enabled the company to grow the cash on its balance sheet by 28 per cent despite a $5.4m dividend payout and $3.6m share buy-back programme.
Broker Peel Hunt is forecasting adjusted pre-tax profit of $14.9m and EPS of 41.3¢ for the 12 months to June 2016 (from $13.3m and 37.5¢ in full-year 2015).
CRANEWARE (CRW) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 638p | MARKET VALUE: | £171m | |
| TOUCH: | 625-650p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 683p | LOW: 475p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.4% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 178¢* | NET CASH: | $41.8m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 38.1 | 8.7 | 23.1 | 8.8 |
| 2012 | 41.1 | 11.2 | 33.0 | 10.5 |
| 2013 | 41.5 | 10.6 | 30.7 | 11.5 |
| 2014 | 42.6 | 11.3 | 31.9 | 12.5 |
| 2015 | 44.8 | 12.5 | 35.0 | 14.0 |
| % change | +5 | +11 | +10 | +12 |
Ex-div: 19 Nov Payment: 15 Dec *Includes intangible assets of $16.2m, or 60¢ a share £1=$1.54 | ||||
