It looks like Hollywood Bowl (BOWL) threw a gutter ball on its first results as a listed company, but acquisition and IPO costs actually explain the bulk of the profit slump. If more than £5m-worth of exceptional costs are excluded, then cash profit rose more than 42 per cent to £29.4m. Like-for-like revenue growth wasn't as strong as last year - 6.8 per cent versus 9.1 per cent - but shareholders will be encouraged by the group's quick entry on to the dividend roster, nonetheless. The payout only reflects two weeks of trading, so should be bigger next time around.
The recent purchase of Bowlplex added a net 10 sites to the group's estate, as six had to be divested in order to satisfy the Competition and Markets Authority. Chief executive Stephen Burns says this means future large-scale acquisitions are unlikely, but the board will still look out for single site opportunities to boost market share, which currently stands at 33 per cent. A total of eight centres were refurbished in the period, and management plans to spruce up or rebrand between seven and 10 sites a year.
Analysts at Investec expect pre-tax profit of £20.1m for the year to September 2017, leading to EPS of 10.6p, compared with £10.6m and 5.7p in FY2016.
| HOLLYWOOD BOWL (BOWL) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 188p | MARKET VALUE: | £282m | |
| TOUCH: | 183-187p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 200p | LOW: 159p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.1% | PE RATIO: | 168 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 50p* | NET DEBT: | 28% | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013** | 70.2 | -3.6 | na | na |
| 2014** | 78.7 | -1.8 | na | na |
| 2015 | 86.0 | 4.8 | 3.6 | na |
| 2016 | 107 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 0.19 |
| % change | +24 | -46 | -69 | - |
Ex-div: 23 Feb Payment: 24 Mar *Includes intangible assets of £79.2m, or 53p a share **Pre-IPO figures | ||||
