FRP Advisory (FRP) chief executive Geoff Rowley says he isn't about to “shout from the rooftop” about the near-term outlook for the corporate restructuring outfit.
In the interest of both tact and humility, that’s probably wise. And as long as UK plc is propped up by multiple government support measures – from the furlough scheme to bounce-back loans, rate holidays and tax breaks – then FRP cannot yet claim to being in a boom period for insolvency work. By its own admission, state support has led to a reduction in appointments in the quarter to July.
Then again, activity is in line with the management expectations at the time of the group’s initial public offering in March. And figures for the 12 months to April clearly show momentum before Covid-19 struck. Administration appointments climbed by a third, and culminated in instructions to advise on the insolvencies of Bonmarché, Debenhams and Carluccio's.
Such high-profile gigs bring intangible benefits. Though professional services firms’ revenues are typically made up of lots of smaller instructions, Mr Rowley reports receiving a phone call from the private equity owners of ailing restaurant group Prezzo after news of the Carluccio’s mandate broke.
Cenkos expects adjusted earnings of 5.6p per share for the year to April 2021, and 6.4p in FY2022.
| FRP ADVISORY (FRP) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 124p | MARKET VALUE: | £293m | |
| TOUCH: | 122-125p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 135p | LOW: 70p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | 142 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 8.6p | NET CASH: | £17.1m^ | |
| Year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2017* | 40 | nil | n/a | nil |
| 2018* | 52 | nil | n/a | nil |
| 2019* | 54.3 | nil | n/a | nil |
| 2020* | 63.2 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.66 |
| % change | +16 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | 22 Oct | |||
| Payment: | 13 Nov | |||
| ^Includes lease liabilities of £4.2m. *Pre-IPO, when earnings were distributed to partners. Includes 10 months of FY2020. | ||||
