A February trading update from Accesso Technology (ACSO) revealed 2018 numbers would reflect $1.7m (£1.3m) in one-off costs pertaining to the termination of a "well-advanced" acquisition opportunity. We also learnt that management had initiated a review of Accesso’s investment priorities, and that executive chairman Tom Burnet was moving into a non-executive director role. The shares – which had lost momentum since the release of half-year figures in September – plummeted in response. To a lesser extent, they were marked down again on results day.
First off, Accesso adopted new accounting rules in January 2018. Thus, on a pro-forma basis, revenues actually improved by 15.5 per cent. Organic sales rose 7.8 per cent, buoyed by the 'ticketing and distribution' segment, but tempered by a decline in 'guest experience' revenues – caused by weather and shifting park visitation patterns. Pro-forma operating profits also fell by more than a third to $6.3m, following higher administrative expenses, including amortisation.
In 2019, development expenditure will reach $36m-$39m (against $29.3m in 2018), albeit with a reduced level of capitalisation. The company expects its "evolved technology platform" to see multiple benefits as a result, including faster time to market and an ability to "increase penetration within our available markets".
House broker Numis forecasts adjusted operating profits of $15.2m in 2019, down from an earlier estimate of $37.3m, with EPS of 39.8¢ (from $25.1m and 70.6¢ in 2018).
| ACCESSO TECHNOLOGY (ACSO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 735p | MARKET VALUE: | £201m | |
| TOUCH: | 700-770p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,975p | LOW: 655p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 79 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 665¢* | NET CASH: | $0.5m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2014 | 75.1 | 5.1 | 18.5 | nil |
| 2015 | 93.2 | 7.2 | 24.5 | nil |
| 2016 | 103 | 10.1 | 34.0 | nil |
| 2017 | 133 | 7.2 | 40.8 | nil |
| 2018 | 119 | 5.2 | 12.2 | nil |
| % change | -11 | -28 | -70 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
*Includes intangible assets of $197m, or 723¢ a share £1=$1.32 | ||||
