Shares in Cohort (CHRT) have suffered due to general concerns over Ministry of Defence (MoD) spending constraints in recent weeks. Yet with £55m of its £132m total order book deliverable in the second half, “83 per cent of the consensus forecast revenue for the full-year” should be recognised by April. A weighting towards the second half shouldn’t blind investors to an 8 per cent fall in adjusted operating profits. But a separately announced £10m two-year MoD contract extension, together with recent contract wins, demonstrates that the group’s high-end technologies remain in demand.
That’s certainly reflected in the half-year performance of its MASS division, a specialist in electronic warfare, secure communications and cyber security. The business was the beneficiary of the aforementioned MoD contract and accounted for £2.5m of the £3.6m in adjusted operating profits through the period. It was a mixed bag elsewhere in the group, with the elimination of the losses incurred at technical defence and security consultancy SCS in the first half of 2016, set against poorer comparatives at the EID (electronic equipment and systems) and Marlborough Communications (electronic and surveillance technology) business segments.
Investec gives adjusted pre-tax profits of £15.5m for the April 2018 year-end, leading to EPS of 29p, against £14.5m and 27.6p in FY2017.
| COHORT (CHRT) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 318p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 130m | |
| TOUCH: | 310-325p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 463p | LOW: 281p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.3% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 169p* | NET CASH: | £5.7m | |
| Half-year to | Turnover | Pre-tax | Earnings per | Dividend |
| 31 Oct | (£m) | profit (£m) | share (p) | per share (p) |
| 2016 | 50.0 | -3.2 | -4.50 | 2.20 |
| 2017 | 44.8 | 0.8 | 1.43 | 2.55 |
| % change | -10 | - | - | +16 |
| Ex-div: | 01 Feb | |||
| Payment: | 28 Feb | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £48m, or 117p a share. | ||||
