With no repeat of the £12m listing costs associated with Polypipe's (PLP) flotation in April 2014, reported profits were smartly higher in 2015. Even without this, strong demand across most of the group's operating divisions, and a contribution from newly acquired ventilation maker Nuaire helped to lift underlying operating profits by 17 per cent to £54.2m.
Sales of residential piping systems, which make up half of group revenue, grew by 5.4 per cent to £182.6m, underpinned by higher completions by the larger housebuilders. The rate of growth would have been higher, but was held back by an 8 per cent fall in public sector housing starts. Activity in the repair, maintenance and improvement market remained stubbornly subdued, although chief executive David Hall pointed out some improved spending here at the start of 2016.
On the commercial side, revenue grew by 18.4 per cent to £131.5m, helped by demand from road and rail projects. A renewed focus on flood prevention also helped to drive sales growth.
Analysts at Numis are forecasting underlying pre-tax profits for 2016 of £59.9m and EPS of 24p (from £48m and 19.4p in 2015).
| POLYPIPE (PLP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 323.9p | MARKET VALUE: | £646m | |
| TOUCH: | 323.4-324.4p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 367p | LOW: 265p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 131p* | NET DEBT: | 75% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 286 | 10.7 | 13.3 | nil |
| 2012 | 282 | 21.0 | 27.7 | nil |
| 2013 | 301 | 24.6 | 26.7 | nil |
| 2014 | 327 | 16.9 | 7.0 | 4.5 |
| 2015 | 353 | 41.5 | 17.1 | 7.8 |
| % change | +8 | +146 | +146 | +73 |
Ex-div: 28 Apr Payment: 1 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £378m, or 190p a share | ||||
