Cobham (COB) has pledged to bring back its dividend at its half-year results after a two-year drought for shareholders. Management expects to pay out 1p a share at the aerospace and defence technology company’s next full-year results.
The group has had a tricky time of late. In February 2019, it settled a dispute with Boeing over damage claims relating to its KC-46 refuelling programme – which Cobham previously described as “unquantified”, to the tune of £160m. In this case, chief executive David Lockwood said that Cobham had been “slow to adapt” to the strains of securing accreditation from the Federal Aviation Authority for the missions systems, which have previously fallen under the scope of military regulation.
A cost-reduction programme has been introduced at Cobham’s advanced electronics systems division, following underperformance over the year, with the aim of identifying $20m (£15.2m) in benefits.
Analysts at Investec forecast full-year 2019 pre-tax profits of £209.4m and EPS of 6.7p, against prior-year figures of £155.2m and 5p.
| COBHAM (COB) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 117p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.8bn | |
| TOUCH: | 117-117.25 | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 135p | LOW: 96.4p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | 38 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 50p* | NET CASH: | £10m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 1.85 | 24.3 | 2.6 | 10.65 |
| 2015 | 2.07 | -39.8 | -2.8 | 11.18 |
| 2016 | 1.94 | -848 | -45.9 | 2.03 |
| 2017** | 2.09 | 69.7 | 3.7 | nil |
| 2018 | 1.86 | 71 | 3.1 | nil |
| % change | -11 | +2 | -16 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £821m, or 34p a share **Restated for IFRS 15 accounting standards | ||||
