While bureaucrats wrangle over the terms of the UK's eventual exit from the European Union, businesses up and down the country simply have to get on with it. Churchill China’s (CHH) half-year figures provide a case in point. Despite uncertainties over our future trading arrangements, the Stoke-based ceramics manufacturer has been steadily building its export base in continental Europe and beyond. Exports accounted for 57 per cent of first-half revenue, up from 49 per cent at the December year-end.
With sterling in retreat, the rise in exports has bolstered revenue, effectively adding £1.3m to the top line, although the impact on earnings was relatively muted due to an increase in imported raw material costs. At constant currencies, revenue was up 2 per cent, with the growth in the hospitality segment offsetting continued weakness in the domestic retail market.
Churchill has also successfully increased the proportion of the top line derived from “higher margin added value products”. They now account for 40 per cent of revenue generated by the hospitality segment, a seven percentage point increase from the 2016 half-year.
N+1 Singer gives adjusted pre-tax profit of £7.5m and EPS of 54.9p for the year-end, against £6.6m and 48.6p in 2016.
| CHURCHILL CHINA (CHH) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,008p | MARKET VALUE: | £111m | |
| TOUCH: | 990-1,025p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,175p | LOW: 800p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 264p | NET CASH: | £10.4m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 24.0 | 2.0 | 14.8 | 6.3 |
| 2017 | 25.8 | 2.7 | 19.6 | 7.4 |
| % change | +8 | +30 | +32 | +17 |
| Ex-div: | 7 Sep | |||
| Payment: | 5 Oct |
