Morgan Sindall (MGNS) is performing better than the headline figures for 2015 suggest. Add back exceptional operating items of £46.9m relating to two old construction contracts and adjusted operating profits were actually up by a third to £38.8m.
Most of the growth came from the fit out division, which specialises in making interior spaces suitable for use. Revenue here grew to a record £607m which lifted operating profits by 60 per cent to £24m, while operational efficiencies boosted margins from 3 per cent to 4 per cent. Around two-thirds of the work was carried out in London and included new offices for Aon and ING, and at £341m the committed order book at the year-end was up 41 per cent from a year earlier.
Crucially, within the affordable housing division, property services - which incorporates response maintenance - saw operating losses cut from £3.5m the previous year to just £1m, with a break even point expected some time this year. So while revenue from maintenance and affordable housing was up just 1 per cent, operating profits jumped by 43 per cent to £8.6m.
Analysts at Numis are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits for the year to December 2016 of £40m and EPS of 74.3p per share (from £34.3m/63p in 2015).
| MORGAN SINDALL (MGNS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 733p | MARKET VALUE: | £325m | |
| TOUCH: | 730-740p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 865p | LOW: 667p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.0% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 564p* | NET CASH: | £58m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2.20 | 40.0 | 71.0 | 42 |
| 2012 | 2.10 | 34.2 | 73.0 | 27 |
| 2013 | 2.10 | 13.9 | 35.4 | 27 |
| 2014 | 2.22 | 22.8 | 42.3 | 27 |
| 2015 | 2.38 | -14.8 | -22.6 | 29 |
| % change | +7 | - | - | +7 |
Ex-div: 28 Apr Payment: 23 May *Includes intangible assets of £217m, or 490p a share | ||||
