Judges Scientific (JDG) returned to its record-breaking ways in 2015, following a difficult 2014 dominated by lower levels of government-funded capital expenditure. Key to this revival, and a 32 per cent rise in adjusted operating profit, was a strong 11-month contribution from one of the scientific instrument specialist's latest additions - Armfield.
The manufacturer of engineering and research equipment used across the education, food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries was responsible for about 34 per cent of group revenue growth. If anything, this impressive performance once again vindicates the strength of Judges' buy-and-build business model.
Organic growth of 4.9 per cent shouldn't be sniffed at, either, particularly as government spending strictures persist and the business climate in major trading areas such as China remains uncertain. Against this tricky backdrop, Judges has built market share by ramping up investment in new and improved products.
More will be spent on research and development in 2016, which, together with the post-period acquisition of lighting specialist CoolLED, is expected to drive further growth. But given that public bodies tend to order at the end of the calendar year, another second-half weighting is likely.
House broker Shore Capital forecasts adjusted pre-tax profit of £9.9m in 2016, giving EPS of 118.7p (from £8.7m and 107.3p in 2015).
| JUDGES SCIENTIFIC (JDG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,660p | MARKET VALUE: | £101m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,610-1,710p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,998p | LOW: 1,335p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 130 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 382p* | NET DEBT: | 18% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 20.8 | 2.9 | 45.2 | 10 |
| 2011 | 28.0 | 0.3 | -4.2 | 15 |
| 2012 | 36.0 | 1.2 | 23.4 | 20 |
| 2013 | 40.6 | 2.4 | 35.7 | 22 |
| 2014 | 56.2 | 1.3 | 12.8 | 25 |
| % change | +39 | -47 | -64 | +14 |
Ex-div: 9 Jun Payment: 8 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £20m, or 328p a share | ||||
