It was a year of consolidation for self-invested personal pension provider (Sipp) Curtis Banks (CBP). Suffolk Life, acquired in 2016 for £45m, offered its first 12-month contribution and sung for its proverbial supper – representing over half of total sales. Excluding Suffolk, the top line still grew by a creditable 8.6 per cent. The adjusted operating margin also increased by one percentage point to 25 per cent – a step in the right direction towards management’s 30 per cent target.
Assets under administration were up 21 per cent to £24.7bn, and Curtis saw 14 per cent organic growth in its Sipp numbers to 76,464. While 'full' Sipp numbers were down slightly year on year compared with other Sipp offerings, management says these are typically mature products with complex investments including property. It plans to “re-energise” these with new products. Indeed, Curtis has established its own legal services business and a property management company to improve customer service and diversify revenue streams.
An exceptional £2.1m impairment charge stems from the capitalised costs of trialling new back-office operating systems, which have now been written off. Management will instead undertake a “material upgrade” of their own system, while retaining Suffolk Life’s existing platforms.
Prior to updating forecasts, Peel Hunt expected adjusted pre-tax profit of £11.6m and EPS of 17.2p for 2018, against £10.5m and 15.6p in 2017.
| CURTIS BANKS (CBP) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 310p | MARKET VALUE: | £167m | |
| TOUCH: | 302-320p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 332p | LOW: 250p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2% | PE RATIO: | 32 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 83p* | NET CASH: | £344m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 8.9 | 3.0 | 11.3 | nil |
| 2014 | 10.1 | 3.1 | 6.0 | nil |
| 2015 | 17.0 | 4.1 | 7.1 | 3.50 |
| 2016 | 29.7 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 4.00 |
| 2017 | 43.6 | 5.9 | 9.8 | 6.25 |
| % change | +47 | +30 | +35 | +56 |
| Ex-div: | 26 Apr | |||
| Payment: | 18 May | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £44.6m, or 83p a share | ||||
