Our last update on Oxford Instruments (OXIG), at the technology tools group's half-year results, was resolutely bearish. Currency movements may have been kind, but slowing academic funding in the US and a tepid healthcare market brought reasons for concern. And while full-year figures still point to a "challenging market backdrop", a post-period agreement to sell the industrial analysis business for £80m has clouded the picture, notwithstanding the shares' recent re-rating.
That deal removes a business that generated revenues of £49.5m and adjusted operating profits of £3.3m in the year to March. Still, with orders down in the period - offsetting a better performance in the nanotechnology tools segment - it's not hard to see why management is happy to part ways.
A bit more patience is being shown with Asylum Research. The atomic force probe microscopy subsidiary, which Oxford acquired in 2012, was "disproportionately impacted" by falling academic funding in the year, and together with the OI Healthcare and ScientaOmicron ventures accounted for the £45.8m one-off impairment that explains the large reported loss.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting pre-tax profits of £41m and EPS of 53.1p for the 12 months to March 2018, up from £37.5m and 48.5p for the 2017 financial year.
OXFORD INSTRMENTS (OXIG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,039p | MARKET VALUE: | £595m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,036-1,042p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,139p | LOW: 610p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.3% | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 231p* | NET DEBT: | 82% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 351 | 28.4 | 37.4 | 11.2 |
| 2014 | 360 | 24.0 | 32.1 | 12.4 |
| 2015 | 380 | -9.6 | -10.9 | 13.0 |
| 2016 (restated) | 320 | 9.7 | 12.2 | 13.0 |
| 2017 | 349 | -25.5 | -44.0 | 13.0 |
| % change | +9 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 21 Sep Payment: 19 Oct *Includes intangible assets of £181m, or 316p a share. | ||||
