The fact that Patisserie Valerie owner Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) finished the period with almost triple the amount of net cash that it had a year before puts it in a good position to keep opening new sites and consider future acquisitions. It has also allowed the Aim-listed company to set a maiden interim dividend of 1p a share.
Remaining highly cash generative will also help to insulate the company from future cost pressures, most pertinent of which being the new national living wage, which came into force in April. Thanks to cost savings and other efficiencies made in the supply chain, gross profit margins have nudged up 1 per cent, which should help mitigate rising wages.
The core Patisserie Valerie brand remains the growth engine, helped along by the recent additions of afternoon tea and create-a-cake. Smaller sister brand Druckers also had a solid first half thanks to a good festive season, and the transformation of sandwich and salad brand Philpotts continues, with a fractional decrease in sales as the business focuses on higher-margin corporate customers.
Analysts at Canaccord Genuity expect pre-tax profits of £17.2m for the year ending September 2016, giving EPS of 13.6p. That compares with £14.6m and 11.3p in FY2015.
| PATISSERIE VALERIE (CAKE) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 354p | MARKET VALUE: | £354m | |
| TOUCH: | 345-354p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 472p | LOW: 279p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.8% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 72p* | NET CASH: | £8.9m | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 43.7 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | 50.0 | 8.4 | 6.7 | 1.0 |
| % change | +14 | +21 | +21 | - |
Ex-div: 26 May Payment: 4 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £17.8m, or 18p a share | ||||
