Shares in Tracsis (TRCS) were on the rise after the traffic and transport software specialist reported an 11 per cent rise in adjusted cash profits to £8.5m, together with a 14 per cent hike in operating cash flow prior to working capital adjustments.
These figures include the first full year of trading for Tracsis’ two recent acquisitions: On-Trac and SEP. Both subsidiaries performed “above expectation”, with On-Trac contributing revenue of £5.3m (£3.2m in 2016), largely stemming from software licences, hosting services and tailored software development work. Chief executive John McArthur notes that the business works “hand in glove with Network Rail”. Meanwhile, SEP – which specialises in event traffic management – lifted sales to £5.7m from £4.1m.
The rail technology and services division achieved an impressive 13 per cent sales boost. And in July Tracsis announced a “major, multiyear contract” with one of the UK’s largest train operating companies, worth millions of pounds. By contrast, traffic and data services’ performance was flat in the face of challenging trading conditions. Management responded by implementing a restructuring programme for the business in February, which should generate annualised cost savings of around £600,000.
Analysts at Investec forecast pre-tax profits of £7.7m and EPS of 23.4p for the year to July 2018, up from £7.6m and 23.3p in 2017.
| TRACSIS (TRCS) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 525p | MARKET VALUE: | £148m | |
| TOUCH: | 515-535p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 535p | LOW: 338p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.3% | PE RATIO: | 39 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 120p* | NET CASH: | £14.8m | |
| Year to 31 July | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 10.8 | 2.6 | 8.4 | 0.7 |
| 2014 | 22.4 | 4.2 | 12.9 | 0.8 |
| 2015 | 23.1 | 4.2 | 13.4 | 1.0 |
| 2016 (restated) | 31.4 | 4.1 | 13.4 | 1.2 |
| 2017 | 34.5 | 4.6 | 13.36 | 1.4 |
| % change | +10 | +13 | -0.3 | +17 |
| Ex-div: | 01 Feb | |||
| Payment: | 16 Feb | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £24.5m, or 87p a share | ||||
