Lighting specialist FW Thorpe (TFW) exceeded £100m in full-year revenue for the first time, while booking significant growth in pre-tax profit (see table). Its largest business, Thorlux, generated sales of £69m. This was partly driven by the launch of the SmartScan wireless lighting system; management notes that the next big stage for the industry, after the rise of LED systems a few years ago, is the 'internet of things' and wireless lighting. SmartScan allows people to measure how much energy their lighting is using, among other features.
Portland Lighting, the external lighting business acquired in 2011, again achieved the highest operating margin. At group level, higher distribution and administrative expenses challenged the top line, sending the overall operating margin down 70 basis points to 17.5 per cent. The TRT division, specialising in LED street and tunnel lighting, lifted sales by 5 per cent. But profits were lower against the previous year, due to adverse exchange rates, the pressures to reduce the price of street light and the costs of moving to a new factory after TRT outgrew its original home.
| FW THORPE (TFW) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 348p | MARKET VALUE: | £402m | |
| TOUCH: | 340-348p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 405p | LOW: 240p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.4% | PE RATIO: | 28 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 87.5p* | NET CASH: | £41.7m | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 55.3 | 11.5 | 8.1 | 3.00 |
| 2014 | 61.4 | 12.6 | 8.7 | 3.25 |
| 2015 | 73.5 | 14.4 | 10.1 | 3.65 |
| 2016 | 88.9 | 16.3 | 11.2 | 4.05 |
| 2017 | 105 | 18.4 | 12.5 | 4.90 |
| % change | +19 | +13 | +12 | +21 |
| Ex-div: | 26 Oct | |||
| Payment: | 30 Nov | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £15.9m, or 13.8p a share | ||||
