Globalised markets have made networking and awareness of industry trends more important than ever. Professionals flocked to trade shows organised by Tarsus (TRS) in 2015, fuelling adjusted pre-tax profits of £26.3m. That represents a 9 per cent increase from 2013, when the international events group last held its flagship biennial fixtures.
Like-for-like sales - which are adjusted for biennial events and other one-off items - leapt a tenth. The growth was underpinned by a 9 per cent rise in buyer and visitor volumes, as marquee events such as Dubai Airshow and Labelexpo Europe drew crowds.
Management's strategy centres on replicating successful shows and acquiring popular events in fast-growing territories. It 'geocloned' 15 brands including its GESS education event in Dubai, which it launched in Mexico City and Jakarta. It also diversified away from Europe by selling its struggling French business. And it snapped up Painweek and AMB, strengthening its presence in the US preventative healthcare industry with the former and the burgeoning markets of Myanmar and Cambodia in the latter.
Broker Numis bumped up its forecasts and now expects pre-tax profits of £19.5m and EPS of 14.3p in 2016, compared with £17m and 12.6p in the comparable period in 2014.
| TARSUS (TRS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 233p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 237m | |
| TOUCH: | 230-235p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 239p | LOW: 200p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.6% | PE RATIO: | 16 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 35p* | NET DEBT: | 109% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 61.7 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 6.3 |
| 2012 | 51.5 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 6.8 |
| 2013 | 75.9 | 15.9 | 12.2 | 7.3 |
| 2014 (restated) | 50.9 | 7.1 | 5.0 | 7.8 |
| 2015 | 82.0 | 19.1 | 14.4 | 8.4 |
| % change | +61 | +168 | +188 | +8 |
Ex-div: 26 May Payment: 7 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £127m, or 125p a share | ||||
