Recent acquisitions have transformed Restore (RST) into a market-leading force across its main records management, shredding, scanning and relocation activities. Strip out exceptional items, the bulk of which include restructuring and redundancy costs, and this newfound status in the highly lucrative UK office management industry lifted group revenues and pre-tax profit by over 40 per cent each in 2016.
The acquisitions of Wincanton Records Management in December 2015 and PHS Data Solutions in August 2016 drove a 65 per cent increase in core document management sales. Most of the credit went to PHS DS, which helped to transform Restore's document-scanning segment from a basic, one-site operation into a market-leading player capable of meeting growing customer requirements for more sophisticated forms of digitisation.
PHS DS also lifted the group's shredding and recycling revenues more than eightfold. Broker Cenkos reckons cost savings from the revitalised scanning and shredding business, both of which have since been boosted by three new acquisitions, should drive operating margins up by about 800 basis points in 2017.
Analysts there expect adjusted pre-tax profits of £30.2m in 2017, giving EPS of 21.8p (up from £23m and 17.9p for FY2016).
RESTORE (RST) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 372.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £418m | |
| TOUCH: | 370-375p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 394p | LOW: 253p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.1% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 136p* | NET DEBT: | 48% | |
| Year to Dec 31 | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 43.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 |
| 2013 | 54.0 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 1.9 |
| 2014 | 67.5 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 2.4 |
| 2015 | 91.9 | 6.1 | 7.2 | 3.2 |
| 2016 | 129.4 | 7.5 | 17.8 | 4.0 |
| % change | +41 | +23 | +147 | +25 |
Ex-div: 8 Jun Payment: 7 Jul *Includes intangible assets of £190m, or 169p a share | ||||
