Last year, geopolitical tension in Turkey hampered sales for Global Ports' (GPH) cruise business. However, the economic crisis that broke out in the country after this reported period might be the catalyst for a turnaround for tourism. A weak lira could draw in travellers and provide a foreign exchange benefit, since Global Ports reports in US dollars. That said, chief executive Emre Sayin says cruises will take longer to react than land-based travel, as boats are scheduled around two years in advance.
Mr Sayin called the period a record first for the group in terms of cash profits, which were up 14 per cent to $34.2m (£26.9m) at constant currencies. This was driven by both the cruise business, where cash profits improved by more than a quarter to $13.1m, and the commercial division, up 14 per cent to $25.3m. Cruise passenger numbers were up 6.2 per cent organically to 1.62m. This is a good start considering cruise revenue tends to be second-half weighted during the main holiday periods. The new partnership with cruise travel agent Dreamlines should further support growth in the division.
Analysts at Shore Capital expect pre-tax profit of $46m during 2018, giving EPS of 66.1ȼ (up from $39.1m and 54.3ȼ in 2017).
| GLOBAL PORTS (GPH) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 528p | MARKET VALUE: | £332m | |
| TOUCH: | 501-528p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 685p | LOW: 390p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.8% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 227ȼ* | NET DEBT: | 109% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (ȼ) | Dividend per share (ȼ) |
| 2017 | 49.7 | -6.53 | -11.3 | 27.9 |
| 2018 | 56.6 | -2.11 | -6.0 | 27.9 |
| % change | +14 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | tba | |||
| Payment: | 31 Oct | |||
| *Includes $424m of intangible assets, or 675ȼ a share £1=$1.27 | ||||
