A substantially lower tax charge, coupled with a £1.54m year-on-year reduction in fair value and one-off charges, helped Aim-traded GB (GBG) post strong earnings growth for the reported period. That's not to decry the identity data specialist's organic growth rate, which accounted for over half of top-line expansion.
Comparatives were buoyed by rising demand for fraud prevention systems and increased up-selling of customer registration software. But perhaps the simplest gauge of progress was the 37 per cent increase in gross profit.
Organic growth aside, GB remains in acquisitive mode. The group has finalised eight strategic acquisitions since midway through 2011, culminating in the April 2015 deal to secure San Francisco-based Loqate, which not only enhanced GB's data intelligence capabilities, but also provided an entry into the potentially lucrative US market. Happily for the group, Loqate has exceeded management's initial expectations of profitability. And we can reasonably expect that international revenue, which already accounts for a quarter of the group total, will continue rising proportionately.
Broker Peel Hunt expects adjusted profit of £14.9m in the year to March 2017, giving EPS of 9.2p (from £13.1m and 8.2p in FY2016).
| GB (GBG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 310p | MARKET VALUE: | £384m | |
| TOUCH: | 310-315p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 330p | LOW: 200p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.7% | PE RATIO: | 42 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 46p* | NET CASH: | £8.7m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 31.8 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 1.38 |
| 2013 | 39.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.50 |
| 2014 | 41.8 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 1.65 |
| 2015 | 57.3 | 5.9 | 4.0 | 1.85 |
| 2016 | 73.4 | 9.3 | 7.4 | 2.08 |
| % change | +28 | +57 | +85 | +12 |
Ex-div: 21 Jul Payment: 26 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £54m, or 44p a share | ||||
