Installing a smart meter has probably not been front of mind for most people in recent months, but Calisen (CLSN) kept revenue coming in during the six months to 30 June. The new entrant to London's market, which is almost three-quarters owned by private equity firm KKR, reported a 2 per cent increase in meters installed between the end of 2019 and 30 June, to 8.7m.
New meter installations were suspended between March and June for the Calvin Capital segment and between March and July for the much smaller Lowri Beck part of the business, which handles independent energy retailers. Its pipeline has stayed largely flat since the end of 2019, at 6.4m meters to be installed.
Calisen bought Lowri Beck in August last year, which ran a £7m operating loss in the first half. The company said it was restructuring the division and hoped to be breaking even on a cash profit basis by the end of 2021. The restructuring will see around 250 jobs lost.
Calisen was formed by the combination of Lowri Beck and Calvin Capital last year. The company said one positive for Lowri Beck in the period was getting approval to move into electric vehicle charging point installations.
Debt remains high but has come down since the start of 2020. Having swapped more than £700m in shareholder loans (including accrued interest) for equity, Calisen took its net debt to £532m, a 34 per cent drop compared to adjusted net debt – which excludes the shareholder loans – on 31 December.
Consensus forecasts put full-year cash profits for 2020 at £225m, up slightly from £223 in 2019.
| CALISEN (CLSN) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 162p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 888m | |
| TOUCH: | 162.2-162.9p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 234p | LOW: 95p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NA | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 140p* | NET DEBT: | 69% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2019** | 92.6 | -40.3 | -168 | nil |
| 2020 | 117 | -23.4 | -7.9 | nil |
| % change | +27 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes £558m in intangible assets or 102p per share **pre-IPO and Lowri Beck acquisition | ||||
