With a combination of falling energy prices and subsea work deferrals it was never likely to be a positive out-turn for James Fisher (FSJ). The marine services group, which owns several businesses in north-east Scotland, saw work volumes decline due to delays to both hydrocarbon and renewables projects. Given the vagaries of timing linked to project contracts, it is difficult to gauge whether cash-flows will hold up through the second half of 2020, even though remedial actions dramatically improved the group’s working capital position during the period.
The group has revised assumptions on certain carrying values to reflect the deterioration in the business environment. A £4.8m impairment charge was levied on the value of its marine assets as part of £8m in one-off charges, which also included £1.5m linked to reduced headcount in Marine Support. Disregard these items, and underlying operating profit was down by a fifth to £19.5m
All of the business segments recorded double-digit falls in revenue, with the exception - somewhat counter-intuitively - of offshore oil, which saw sales ratchet-up 4 per cent, accompanied by a 2 percentage point-rise in the underlying operating margin.
Consensus estimates give adjusted EPS of 68.75p, rising to 90.4p in 2021.
| JAMES FISHER (FSJ) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,172p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 590m | |
| TOUCH: | 1,160-1.172p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,190p | LOW: 1,100p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.7% | PE RATIO: | 24 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 626p* | NET DEBT: | 55% | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2019 | 287 | 20.9 | 33.8 | 11.3 |
| 2020 | 258 | 7.10 | 9.90 | 8.00 |
| % change | -10 | -66 | -71 | -29 |
| Ex-div: | 01 Oct | |||
| Payment: | 06 Nov | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £208m, or 414p a share. | ||||
