London-focused estate and letting agent Foxtons (FOXT) suffered last year as a result of weakness in the housing market following the higher stamp duty charge and uncertainty generated by the EU referendum. With profits sharply lower, the dividend payout was slashed by 80 per cent if the previous year's special dividend is taken into account.
Although a rush to beat the stamp duty hike in April led to high activity levels in the first quarter, sales transactions in Greater London collapsed by 44 per cent from the second to the fourth quarters. All in all, transactions declined by 28 per cent over the year.
Sales revenue fell nearly a quarter, but lettings revenue was more resilient, down marginally at £68.3m. However, this figure was boosted by a strong first quarter that's unlikely to be repeated in the current year. There was also downward pressure on rents as more stock came on to the market. Competition was also higher as more letting agents joined the market, while the proposed ban on letting fees has also cast a shadow.
Estimates vary widely for the coming year, but Numis is forecasting pre-tax profits for the year to December 2017 of £12.6m and EPS of 3.7p, rising to £13.2m and 3.9p in 2018.
| FOXTONS (FOXT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 98.25p | MARKET VALUE: | £270m | |
| TOUCH: | 97.5-98.25p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 176p | LOW: 87p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.0% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 50p* | NET CASH: | £9.5m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p)** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012*** | 120 | 24.9 | 8.0 | nil |
| 2013 | 139 | 38.9 | 12.2 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 144 | 42.1 | 11.9 | 4.9 |
| 2015 | 150 | 41.0 | 12.3 | 5 |
| 2016 | 133 | 18.8 | 5.7 | 2 |
| % change | -11 | -54 | -54 | -60 |
Ex-div: 27 Apr Payment: 25 May *Includes intangible assets of £119m or 43p a share **Excludes special dividends of 3.74p a share in 2013, 4.76p in 2014 and 5.99p in 2015 ***Prior to flotation | ||||
