Emis's (EMIS) recurring revenues edged up by 1 per cent – constituting just over three-quarters of the top line growth – helping it to deliver an 8 per cent rise in adjusted operating profits during the first half.
That was despite adjusted operating profits at Emis health – which generates sales by providing software to NHS organisations – sinking 3.6 per cent, following investment in development costs for the new software platform ‘EMIS-X’. Thankfully, Emis enterprise saw profits rise by over a fifth to £8.1m, buoyed by various commercial licence deals.
Emis is aiming for mid-to-high single-digit revenue growth and margins “towards” 30 per cent in the mid-term. Near-term, management’s full-year outlook has not changed. Cash from operations did decline by 15 per cent to £29.8m, but this stemmed from timing changes in working capital and a strong comparative. Chief executive Andy Thorburn says that a couple of transactions towards the end of the period have been billed, but not yet paid and he is confident of having a good year-end cash position.
Numis expects adjusted EPS of 50.8p for 2019 (up from 45p last year).
| EMIS (EMIS) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,112p | MARKET VALUE: | £704m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,112-1,118p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,262p | LOW: 853p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.7% | PE RATIO: | 30 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 160p* | NET CASH: | £26.7m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018 | 74.4 | 12.6 | 16.1 | 14.2 |
| 2019 | 79.8 | 12.1 | 16.6 | 15.6 |
| % change | +7 | -4 | +3 | +10 |
| Ex-div: | 26 Sep | |||
| Payment: | 01 Nov | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £85.5m or 135p a share | ||||
