Craneware (CRW.L) – a provider of 'value cycle' software to US healthcare providers – delivered decent numbers for the half year to December, with revenues broadly flat and a 10 per cent uptick in adjusted cash profits to $12.7m (£9.77m). Arguably the more interesting figures were those that haven’t yet fed into financial performance. New sales were up by more than 30 per cent, and 90 per cent of these constituted “expansion sales” to existing customers such as product cross-sells. The group’s new cloud-based Trisus products accounted for about a tenth of new sales, up from 6 per cent a year earlier.
Under Craneware’s revenue recognition policy, most of the revenues stemming from new sales and contract renewals will be recognised in future periods. It follows that, looking ahead, the group can point to total visible revenues of $72.2m for the current financial year and $201m for the three years to June 2022.
All of this marks progress from the “indigestion” that Craneware endured in spring last year, after launching the first three products on the Trisus platform. In June, it warned that the timing and quantity of sales closed in the second half had been lower than expected. But the group has since seen positive signs that such disruption is in the past.
Broker Investec expects adjusted EPS of 65¢ in 2020, up from 62¢ in 2019.
| CRANEWARE (CRW) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,900p | MARKET VALUE: | £509m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,880-1,920p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 3,200p | LOW: 1,715p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.4% | PE RATIO: | 43 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 248¢ | NET CASH**: | $42.4m | |
| Half-year to 31 Dec | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018 | 35.9 | 9.3 | 28.9 | 11.0 |
| 2019 | 35.9 | 9.6 | 29.7 | 11.5 |
| % change | +0 | +3 | +3 | +5 |
| Ex-div: | 19 Mar | |||
| Payment: | 16 Apr | |||
*Includes intangible assets of $33.2m, or 124¢ a share **Includes lease liabilities of $2.6m £1=$1.28 | ||||
