In June, Gateley (GTLY) became the first full-service commercial law firm in the UK to join the stock market. Pro-forma figures for the full year to April 2015 therefore don't tell us a great deal about the Birmingham-headquartered firm's young life as a traded company. But Gateley did provide some interesting commentary on its transition from partnership to plc, and how shareholders might value the business.
Gateley says the listing has played well with potential acquisition targets and new partners - seven of whom have been added since June, with a further seven in talks - while all staff and almost 100 of its clients are now shareholders. The IPO has also added £15m of new cash to the balance sheet for working capital purposes and to pay for partners' pre-float stakes.
In the reported period, renewed housebuilding and financial markets activity drove up revenue. Adjusted cash profits leapt 28.4 per cent in the 12 months, during which time fee-generating staff both increased in number and were better utilised.
Prior to these numbers, broker Cantor Fitzgerald was forecasting adjusted pre-tax profit of £11.8m and EPS of 9p for the year to April 2016.
GATELEY HOLDINGS (GTLY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 100p | MARKET VALUE: | £105.3m | |
| TOUCH: | 98-102p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 110p | LOW: 95p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 4p^ | NET DEBT: | 5%^ | |
| Year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m)* | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 45.3 | 2.3 | - | nil |
| 2013 | 51.4 | 5.1 | - | nil |
| 2014 | 54.6 | 7.4 | 5.4 | nil |
| 2015 | 60.9 | 9.8 | 7.4 | nil |
| % change | +11 | +32 | +37 | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Adjusted pre-tax profit figures for 2012 and 2013, and pro-forma for 2014-15. ^As of 1 May. | ||||
