Moving finished goods from one country to another is not a simple task. As well as needing a lorry and driver, there’s a ferry to book, customs, insurance and a host of other hurdles to jump. And that’s where Xpediator (XPD) comes in, offering a one-stop solution. And with Brexit throwing up all manner of uncertainties, business in this highly-fragmented sector is growing.
Progress since its admission to trading on the Aim in August 2017 has been little short of explosive, and in the six months to June 2018 operating profit more than doubled to £2.3m. Growth was split evenly between acquisitions and organic. The freight management business is split into three operating divisions: freight forwarding, transport and logistics.
Freight forwarding operating under the Delamonde brand increased revenue by more than two-thirds, with organic growth (31 per cent) driven by increased activities in the Baltic region and Greece. On the transport side, which provides bundled fuel and toll cards, financial and support services and operates under the Affinity brand, revenue grew by 41 per cent to a record £3.1m.
After the half year, Xepdiator spent £12m on buying Import Services, a contract warehousing business with 40,000 sq m of warehouse capacity, and part financed by a £7m placing.
Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald are forecasting pre-tax profits for the year to December 2018 of £7m and EPS of 4.5p (up from £4m and 3.3p in 2018).
| XPEDIATOR (XPD) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 72.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £97m | |
| TOUCH: | 70-75p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 87p | LOW: 28p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 30 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 13p* | NET DEBT: | 5% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2017** | 49.1 | 0.71 | 0.50 | 0.35 |
| 2018 | 78.9 | 2.16 | 1.29 | 0.42 |
| % change | +61 | +204 | +158 | +21 |
| Ex-div: | 4 Oct | |||
| Payment: | 26 Oct | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £14.4m, or 11p a share **Pre-IPO | ||||
