The continued expansion of its laundry business across continental Europe was behind the solid gains made by Photo-Me International (PHTM) during the reported period. The photo booth and laundry operator grew the number of Revolution 24-hour self-service laundry units by half to 3,251, predominately in the region. This lifted European sales - which account for over half the group total - by 19 per cent to £112m. It also opened its first launderette in Japan, believed to be one of the largest global launderette markets.
Laundry operations generated more than 60 per cent of revenue in Portugal, compared with 13 per cent in the previous year. In addition to the laundry units, 27 launderettes were opened. In the UK, 70 Revolution units were also rolled out in petrol station forecourts and other high-footfall locations.
However, management has also been investing in upgrading its photo booth technology. In France, the vast majority of photo booths have been upgraded to enable the secure transmission of photographs for driving licence applications. Meanwhile, the Irish government adopted the group's encrypted photo ID upload technology for its online passport applications service. In the UK, start-up costs associated with the newly acquired self-service photo booth business from Asda Stores pushed operating profits down 8 per cent.
Analysts at FinnCap expect adjusted pre-tax profits of £50.5m during the 12 months to April 2018, giving EPS of 9.8p (up from £48m and 9.3p in 2017).
PHOTO-ME INTERNATIONAL (PHTM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 163.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £616m | |
| TOUCH: | 163-163.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 178p | LOW: 126p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.3% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 34p* | NET CASH: | £39m | |
| Year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 196 | 24.3 | 4.8 | 3 |
| 2014 | 187 | 30.1 | 5.8 | 3.75 |
| 2015 | 177 | 38.5 | 7.5 | 4.88 |
| 2016 | 184 | 40.1 | 7.8 | 5.86 |
| 2017 | 215 | 48.0 | 9.3 | 7.03 |
| % change | +17 | +20 | +19 | +20 |
Ex-div: 12 Oct Payment: 10 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £25m, or 7p a share | ||||
