Park (PKG) continued to diversify its product range during the first half of the year, increasing its digital reward platforms. In June management launched Evolve, an online portal that allows employers to issue branded rewards redeemable via an online code. The savings and reward scheme provider is also planning to launch an app making it easier for consumers to load credit onto their pre-paid cards.
Customer billings for the six months to the end of September were 6 per cent ahead of the previous year at £98m. In particular, consumer billings increased 11 per cent to £30m. This increase in billings bodes well for the full year and chief executive Christopher Houghton says customer orders for Christmas 2017 are so far up on Christmas 2016. The first half is traditionally lossmaking since the group dispatches and invoices for 85 per cent of its orders between October and December.
The corporate business now services around 28,000 companies via its vouchers and gift cards. In October Park boosted its presence in the corporate reward market, acquiring employee incentivisation provider Fisher Moy International.
Analysts at house broker Arden Partners expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £12.7m for the 12 months to March 2017, leading to EPS of 5.4p. This is up from £11.9m and 5.2p respectively for the previous year.
PARK (PKG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 70.25p | MARKET VALUE: | £129m | |
| TOUCH: | 70-71p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 98p | LOW: 59p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.1% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 6p* | NET CASH: | £29m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 72.1 | -1.4 | -0.6 | 0.85 |
| 2016 | 72.4 | -0.8 | -0.3 | 0.95 |
| % change | - | - | - | +12 |
Ex-div: 2 Mar Payment: 6 Apr *Includes intangible assets of £4.2m, or 2p a share | ||||
