Bad weather in the first four months of this year cost Marshalls (MSLH) £9m in lost sales, but the landscape products specialist made up for it in June and July, when revenue was up by 21 per cent in both months from a year earlier.
Profits were also boosted by a full half-year contribution from CPM, the pre-cast concrete manufacturer specialising in underground water works, acquired in October last year. Further acquisitions are possible, and the group continues to target higher growth areas such as housebuilding, road, rail and water management.
The business operates under two sectors. The domestic end market accounts for around one-third of group sales, and this suffered the most from the severe weather. Even so, strong growth outside the bad weather meant that sales were broadly in line with a year earlier.
Sales to the public sector and commercial end market accounted for 64 per cent of group sales and grew by 19 per cent, including the contribution from CPM. A number of new products such as flood protection have been introduced, and CPM recently secured orders for work on smart motorway projects.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits of £60.5m and EPS of 25p for the year to December 2018 (from £52.1m and 21.1p in 2017).
MARSHALLS (MSLH) | ||||
ORD PRICE: | 448.6p | MARKET VALUE: | £895m | |
TOUCH: | 448-449.2p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 482p | LOW: 377p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | PE RATIO: | 20 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 122p* | NET DEBT: | 20% |
Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
2017 | 219 | 29.1 | 12.0 | 3.4 |
2018 | 244 | 32.5 | 13.2 | 4 |
% change | +12 | +12 | +10 | +18 |
Ex-div: | 18 Oct | |||
Payment: | 05 Dec | |||
*Includes intangible assets of £73m or 37p a share |