Management says this was the best year Computacenter (CCC) has had in 23 years. Indeed, even at constant currencies, sales rose 12 per cent to £408m, with profits slightly ahead of house broker Investec’s expectations. However, these headline figures were dampened by news of resource scarcity in the German services market, leading to modest growth here year on year, while the French business will also face challenges through 2018.
Despite its services shortfall, Germany – Computacenter’s largest segment – lifted revenues by 23.9 per cent to £1.7bn, buoyed by double-digit growth in supply chain sales. France exceeded expectations, with 21.3 per cent sales growth to £510m. However, it now faces “puffed-up” comparisons in 2018. And, a government department contract – Computacenter’s largest in France – is up for renewal in the second half, causing a probable trading hiatus. The UK returned to revenue growth, but still absorbs most group costs – meaning adjusted operating profits fell 18.2 per cent to £38.3m.
Analysts at Investec forecast pre-tax profits of £106.8m, with EPS of 69.3p for 2018, against £106.2m and 66.5p in 2017.
| COMPUTACENTER (CCC) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,032p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.18bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,030-1,034p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,206p | LOW: 709p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | 15 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 428p | NET CASH: | £191m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013† | 3.07 | 50.5 | 23.2 | 17.5 |
| 2014† | 3.11 | 76.4 | 40.5 | 19.0 |
| 2015 | 3.06 | 127 | 83.9 | 21.4** |
| 2016 | 3.25 | 87.1 | 52.9 | 22.2 |
| 2017 | 3.79 | 112 | 67.3 | 26.1 |
| % change | +17 | +28 | +27 | +18 |
| Ex-div: | 31 May | |||
| Payment: | 29 Jun | |||
| *Excludes special dividend of 71.9p a share †Dividends of 19.6p in 2013 and 19.8p in 2014 when adjusted for share consolidation in Feb 2015 | ||||
