Lighting company Luceco (LUCE) has continued its steady growth, clocking up another 25 per cent jump in adjusted operating profits to £9m thanks to gains in domestic market share and overseas expansion. The 0.3p final dividend paid since listing last year has been followed up with a 0.8p interim payment.
The company has three strategic objectives. The first is to expand its LED product range to further capitalise on the increasing shift away from more mature lighting technology towards LEDs, for example into road lighting. The second is to improve manufacturing processes in its China base. The facilities in the country were expanded last year, providing extra capacity for the growing business.
Luceco's third objective is to reduce its reliance on the UK market. In the period, 83 per cent of revenues were generated in the UK, but expansion is under way internationally. Sales in the Americas grew from £0.9m to £2.5m, the Asia-Pacific region saw turnover nearly double at £2.5m, and European sales were up two-thirds at £4.1m. Chief executive John Hornby said the company is aiming to generate a quarter of revenues overseas within three years.
Analysts at Numis are forecasting adjusted operating profit of £22.2m, giving EPS of 10.3p in the year to December 2017 (from £17.6m and 8.5p in 2016).
| LUCECO (LUCE) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 250p | MARKET VALUE: | £402m | |
| TOUCH: | 240-250p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 260p | LOW: 140p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.4% | PE RATIO: | 32 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 27p* | NET DEBT: | 61% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 60.0 | 5.3 | 2.8 | nil |
| 2017 | 75.3 | 8.1 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| % change | +26 | +52 | +43 | - |
| Ex-div: | 21 Sep | |||
| Payment: | 27 Oct | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £13.7m, or 9p a share | ||||
