An increase in reliance on technology by businesses across all sectors has created a broadly favourable market for InterQuest (ITQ), the specialist technology recruiter. As more companies seek to employ full-time tech experts, the group has seen a 9 per cent increase in net fee income derived from permanent staff recruitment. But this was balanced by a slight fall in its larger contract recruitment division. Overall, net fee income was up 3 per cent at £23.8m.
The good news is that this permanent business helps to build stronger relationships with clients, and the group has seen an increase in repeat business as a result of this. On the contract side, the company sees higher-value professional contractors, which were a more stable source of revenue in the reported period, as a growth area in 2016.
In November 2015, InterQuest gained a new chief executive and chief financial officer, and with them a renewed focus on margins. The company will also work to drive top-line growth by increasing its number of consultants.
Broker Panmure Gordon is expecting adjusted pre-tax profit and EPS of £5.6m and 11.8p, respectively, in 2016, up from £5m and 10.5p the prior year.
| INTERQUEST (ITQ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 82p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 30m | |
| TOUCH: | 80-83p | 12-MONTH HIGH / LOW: | 105p | 75p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.74% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 65p* | NET DEBT | 26% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 121 | -0.2 | -3.4 | 2.5 |
| 2012 | 113 | -0.4 | -0.4 | 2.5 |
| 2013 | 115 | 1.4 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| 2014 | 151 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 2.5 |
| 2015 | 159 | 4.1 | 8.5 | 3.0 |
| % change | +5 | +42 | +44 | +20 |
Ex-div:14 Apr Payment:13 May *Includes intangible assets of £19.9m, or 55p a share | ||||
