Stock Spirits (STCK) continues to be on the road to recovery under chief executive Mirek Stachowicz. His “root and branch review” helped the group regain market share in Poland, its largest market, which had been lost to Russian competitors. Lowering prices in the region did weigh on the gross margin, pushing it to just under 50 per cent. But Mr Stachowicz said this was more than offset by cost-cutting at the group level, including closing the Swiss office and moving operations and legal teams closer to the markets they serve. This delivered €2.5m (£2.3m) in savings during this period, with another €1.5m expected from the start of next year.
Revenue growth in Poland and the Czech Republic, at 5.3 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively, along with a 7.3 per cent increase in total sales volumes to 5.7m nine litre cases contributed to a 32 per cent increase in operating profit to €16.5m. It also helped to offset falling sales in Italy and other markets.
Analysts at Numis forecast pre-tax profit of €38.6m in the year to December, giving EPS of 13.4¢, compared with €36.2m and 12.6¢ in FY2016.
| STOCK SPIRITS (STCK) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 171p | MARKET VALUE: | £341m | |
| TOUCH: | 170.5-171.25p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 200p | LOW: 146p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.9% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 178¢* | NET DEBT: | 11% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2016 | 116 | 12.7 | 0.04 | 2.27 |
| 2017 | 120 | 15.7 | 0.06 | 2.38 |
| % change | +3 | +23 | +50 | +5 |
| Ex-div: | 30 Aug | |||
| Payment: | 22 Sep | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of €370m, or 185¢ a share £1=€1.11 | ||||
