Smart meter provider Calisen (CLSN) listed on the main market in February at 240p, sneaking in ahead of the Covid-19 pandemonium to secure a £1.3bn valuation. It made progress across 2019, with adjusted cash profits rising by a tenth to £189m. This came as the number of revenue-generating smart meters surged by around a third to 5.2m. Yet high finance costs kept it in a statutory pre-tax lossmaking position.
The new financial year has brought disruption from the pandemic. While the group’s installation rate is typically slower in the first quarter, this was exacerbated by the suspension of all non-essential work in March. Lower capital expenditure should improve cash flows until normal activity resumes. Net cash generated from operations more than doubled last year to £130m.
Calisen has traditionally focused on securing contracts with the ‘Big 6’ energy retailers through its Calvin Capital business. However, the 2019 acquisition of Lowri Beck aimed to address the rise of independent retailers. It now has an installation pipeline of 3.4m meters with the independents versus just 0.2m at the end of 2017. The integration of Lowri Beck did weigh on margins last year and the division is guided to be lossmaking in 2020.
Adjusted net debt (which excluded shareholder loans) jumped over a fifth in 2019 to £804m. Benefiting from £300m of IPO proceeds, this dropped to £518m post-period, equivalent to 2.8 times adjusted cash profits.
| CALISEN (CLSN) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 180p | MARKET VALUE: | £986m | |
| TOUCH: | 180-181p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 254p | LOW: 95p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | * | NET DEBT: | £1.49bn** | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018^ | 162 | -65.8 | - | nil |
| 2019^ | 209 | -82.2 | - | nil |
| % change | +29 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Negative shareholders' equity **Includes lease liabilities of £5m ^Pre-IPO | ||||
