GlobalData’s (DATA) revenues for the first half were up by a tenth on an organic basis – something that the data and analytics group attributed to strong sales, training and a targeted pipeline. The rest of its top-line growth stemmed from acquisitions – with its largest ever purchase, Research Views (made last April for £97.3m), now fully integrated.
Deferred revenues climbed by 15 per cent to £77.2m, providing improved top-line visibility. Meanwhile, adjusted cash profits were up by over a half to £22.3m, on a margin of 25.2 per cent – in line with management's targets, and above the 19.4 per cent figure reported a year earlier. Here, GlobalData notes that second-half costs are usually higher. So the margin may not improve any further during the current six-month period. But the company reckons that it has “reached an inflection point” – with sales translating into “significant incremental margin”. It has, therefore, declared a new medium-term margin target of 30 per cent.
Continuing operating cash flow jumped by almost 100 per cent to £34.1m. In turn, net debt contracted by around a tenth to £57.3m – with the rate of decline tempered slightly by £8.2m spent on transactional activity.
Broker N+1 Singer expects adjusted earnings per share of 23.6p for 2019, up from 18p in 2018.
| GLOBALDATA (DATA) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 870p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.03bn | |
| TOUCH: | 860-880p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 870p | LOW: 563p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.4% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 125p* | NET DEBT: | 39% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018 | 75.0 | -4.2 | -4.3 | 3.5 |
| 2019 | 88.5 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 5.0 |
| % change | +18 | - | - | +43 |
| Ex-div: | 29 Aug | |||
| Payment: | 3 Oct | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £258m, or 218p a share | ||||
