Online travel firm On The Beach (OTB) joined the London Stock Exchange on 28 September, so its first set of results as a listed entity hardly reflect life as a public company. Progress is apparent though on the group's balance sheet, which moved from a net debt position of £8.6m in September 2014 to reporting net cash of roughly £11m a year later.
Chief executive Simon Cooper founded the business back in 2004, carving out a niche in selling just beach holidays to online customers. Historically the company has been UK-focused, but it recently launched a new website in Sweden, with more Scandinavian territories to follow in 2016.
The few months have been tough for travel stocks as terror attacks in popular tourist destinations such as Tunisia, Sharm el-Sheikh and Paris dampened enthusiasm for travelling. But Mr Cooper believes this could work to the company's advantage, as customers opt for closer-to-home destinations, including Spain and the Mediterranean.
Pre-tax losses were caused largely by interest on shareholder loans that have now been repaid in full. Broker Numis expects pre-tax profits of £20.7m for the year ending September 2016, giving EPS of 12.4p, compared with £14.5m and 8.9p in FY2015.
| ON THE BEACH (OTB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 185p | MARKET VALUE: | £241m | |
| TOUCH: | 181-188p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 222p | LOW: 166p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 52pƗ | NET CASH: | £11m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012* | 31.0 | 4.1 | n/a | n/a |
| 2013* | 37.5 | 5.8 | n/a | n/a |
| 2014** | 45.8 | -4.8 | -7.9 | nil |
| 2015 | 63.1 | -2.5 | -5.8 | nil |
| % change | +38 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Pre-IPO figures **53-week period Ɨ Includes intangible assets of £68.2m, or 52p a share | ||||
