In June 2017 Wincanton (WIN) warned of trouble in the transport division. Trading in that business had been “weaker than expected”, but the hope was that it would be mitigated by cost efficiencies. Full-year figures suggest that in-house measures have been effective, with underlying operating profit of £52.9m slightly ahead of analysts’ forecasts, while the transition through to earnings was aided by a lower interest charge.
There’s still work to be done. Sales in the industrial and transportation division increased by 2.4 per cent to £480m – thanks to new contracts in the construction sector – but underlying operating profit fell 11.8 per cent to £23.2m, with an 80-basis point contraction in the margin due to the loss of a contract, combined with lower volumes.
No such problems at the retail and consumer segment, where new contract wins, particularly in the general merchandising sector, contributed to a 15.1 per cent rise in underlying operating profit to £29.7m, helped along by contract extensions with existing customers like Ikea.
Analysts at Numis expect pre-tax profits of £48.1m in the year to March 2019, giving EPS of 31.1p (up from £46.4m and 30.3 in FY2018).
| WINCANTON (WIN) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 274p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 341m | |
| TOUCH: | 272-275p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 309p | LOW: 190p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.6% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | * | NET DEBT: | £29.5m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 1.10 | 34.9 | 23.6 | nil |
| 2015 | 1.11 | 24.9 | 16.6 | nil |
| 2016 | 1.15 | 65.8 | 50.7 | 5.5 |
| 2017 | 1.12 | 45.4 | 34.2 | 9.1 |
| 2018 | 1.17 | 37.9 | 25.2 | 9.9 |
| % change | +5 | -17 | -26 | +9 |
| Ex-div: | 05 Jul | |||
| Payment: | 03 Aug | |||
| *Negative shareholder funds, including intangible assets of £82.7m, or 66p per share | ||||
