A 15 per cent organic sales increase at IMImobile (IMO) was an encouraging reminder that the group doesn’t rely on acquisitions alone to boost performance. That said, in the first half, Infracast – purchased in March – contributed strongly to revenues. And, post-period-end, IMI acquired Sumotext, a US-based communications platform provider, creating around £0.5m in additional marketing expenses this year. Bosses expect Sumotext to be earnings-accretive in the year to March 2019.
Regionally, Europe and the Americas contributed the lion’s share of gross profits, and saw an impressive 30 per cent uplift year on year. The Infracast purchase helped to strengthen IMI’s position in the UK; it now manages most digital notifications for three out of four of the country’s main retail banking groups. India and south-east Asia, meanwhile, was the star performer with a whopping 84 per cent rise in gross profits. This was thanks partly to deployments under the Telenor Group contract signed earlier this year.
The upscaling of the business hasn’t had any detrimental effect on operating performance. Cash generated from operations came in 12 per cent ahead of the 2016 comparative at £11.9m, while continuing strong cash conversion is underpinning “flexibility for future M&A in a fragmented market”.
Analysts at Investec forecast pre-tax profits of £9.3m and EPS of 11.1p for the year ending March 2018, up from £9.0m and 11.0p in 2017.
| IMIMOBILE (IMO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 203p | MARKET VALUE: | £124m | |
| TOUCH: | 200-205p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 226p | LOW: 157p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 83p* | NET CASH: | £14.7m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2016 | 36.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | nil |
| 2017 | 53.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 | nil |
| % change | +48 | +2 | -38 | nil |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £36.2m, or 59p a share | ||||
