Join our community of smart investors

Judges Scientific draws a blank

The specialist in acquiring and adding value to scientific instruments businesses posted strong numbers in a difficult year for acquisitions
March 19, 2019

Judges Scientific (JDG) chief executive David Cicurel is “not happy we didn’t do any deals” in 2018, as the acquirer of small- and medium-sized scientific instrument businesses ended the year in a net cash position for only the second time ever.

IC TIP: Hold at 2,890p

“That’s life,” Mr Cicurel added. The net cash, along with new £35m five-year acquisition facilities, leaves Judges in a strong position to take advantage of any acquisition opportunities that may arise in 2019. The company is “completely agnostic” on what its targets actually do, the chief executive said, provided that they operate within the scientific instruments segment. Record revenues, order intake and an order book of 14.4 weeks’ budgeted sales (about as high as it gets, Mr Cicurel claims) suggests that Judges is on the right track, despite not sealing any deals this year. Its return on total invested capital has grown steadily since 2016, when it made four acquisitions, the most in a single year for the company.

Analysts at Shore Capital forecast full-year adjusted EPS of 190p for 2019, up from its previous forecast of 189p.

JUDGES SCIENTIFIC (JDG)  
ORD PRICE:2,890pMARKET VALUE:£179m
TOUCH:2,840-2,940p12-MONTH HIGH:2,920pLOW: 2,100p
DIVIDEND YIELD:1.4%PE RATIO:21
NET ASSET VALUE:494p*NET CASH:£0.7m
Year to 31 DecTurnover (£m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (p)Dividend per share (p)
201440.62.435.722.0
201556.21.312.825.0
201657.30.41.327.5
201771.45.165.632.0
201877.910.213840.0
% change+9+100+110+25
Ex-div:6 Jun   
Payment:5 Jul   
*Includes intangible assets of £20m, or 323p a share