An improved showing by Tennent’s and rising sales of craft beers and ciders provided some cheer for shareholders in C&C Group (CCR), even though a 40 basis point contraction in the underlying margin fed through to a 7 per cent fall in adjusted operating profits.
Though FY2018 is unlikely to be viewed as exemplary in terms of profitability, it was a notable year operationally, with improved market access through a €42m (£36.8m) minority interest in Admiral Taverns, further investment in Dublin’s Five Lamps brewery, and an expansion of the craft portfolio with the acquisition of Somerset-based Orchard Pig cider. To top it off, in April 2017, the group’s English cider brands came under a new distribution partnership with AB InBev.
C&C also completed the roll-out of more than 5,000 new Tennent’s founts (liveried beer pumps) in Scotland. The iconic brand outperformed the total beer market through the period, growing customer numbers in Scotland’s expanding independent free trade, while improving volumes in the local off-trade and wholesale distribution.
Davy Research expects pre-tax profits of €91.4m in the year to February 2019, leading to EPS of 24.1¢ (€102m and 27¢ in FY2020).
| C&C GROUP (CCR) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 306¢ | MARKET VALUE: | €945m | |
| TOUCH: | 305-306¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 358¢ | LOW: 257¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.2% | PE RATIO: | 16 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 173¢* | NET DEBT: | 45% | |
| Year to 28 Feb | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2014 | 913 | 95.5 | 24.7 | 10.0 |
| 2015 | 987 | -67.8 | -24.5 | 11.5 |
| 2016 | 947 | 56.3 | 14.4 | 13.7 |
| 2017 | 861 | -62.9 | -23.5 | 14.3 |
| 2018 | 814 | 72.2 | 21.5 | 14.6 |
| % change | -5 | - | - | +2 |
| Ex-div: | 24 May | |||
| Payment: | 13 Jul | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of €541m, or 175¢ a share £1=€1.14 | ||||
