Shares in Volution (FAN) jumped nearly 4 per cent after a strong first year as a listed company. The ventilation products supplier floated in June last year, and in the ensuing financial year to July 2015 adjusted pre-tax profit almost doubled to £27.5m.
Sales in the new-build sector, where the company supplies an array of products including heat recovery systems, grew by 18 per cent to £17.2m, and a range of new products will be launched later this year. Repair, maintenance and improvement remains an important revenue stream, and while private refurbishment sales were up 3 per cent, local authority austerity measures meant sales were lower to the public sector.
Much of the underlying growth came from the German acquisitions of inVENTer in April last year and Brűggemann in April this year. And as chief executive Ronnie George pointed out, the current financial year's performance is expected to be boosted by the acquisition of Ventilair in August.
The company's financial position has been transformed following its flotation and a subsequent refinancing. Together with a strong cash flow, the effect has been to halve net debt to £21.9m, driving down finance costs from £21m to £2.2m.
Analysts at Canaccord have raised their forecasts for the year ending July 2016 to adjusted pre-tax profit of £30.2m and EPS of 11.9p.
| VOLUTION (FAN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 170p | MARKET VALUE: | £340m | |
| TOUCH: | 168-170p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 181p | LOW: 126p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.9% | PE RATIO: | 29 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 71p* | NET DEBT: | 15% | |
| Year to 31 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 88 | 5.3 | na | nil |
| 2012 | 89 | -11.8 | na | nil |
| 2013 | 102 | -4.2 | -2.3 | nil |
| 2014 | 121 | -15.5 | -14.0 | nil |
| 2015 | 130 | 15.5 | 5.9 | 3.3 |
| % change | +8 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 26 Nov Payment: 18 Dec *Includes intangible assets of £153m, or 76p a share | ||||
