Morgan Sindall (MGNS) delivered another impressive performance in the year to December 2018, with a focus on construction and regeneration helping to lift adjusted operating profits by a quarter to £84.5m.
Construction, which competes for business in areas such as highways, rail, education and healthcare, saw contract selectivity and a firm hold on risk management boost operating margins from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent, while operating profits were up by a third at £27m. Margins on Fit Out were even better at 5.3 per cent, with revenue growth of 13 per cent.
Urban regeneration, which concentrates on partnership working on multi-use sites, saw operating profits all but doubled to £19.6m. However, partnership housing was hit by one-off construction project cost overruns, which meant that operating profits slipped from £14.1m to £12.2m.
And while the group’s secured order book was down 7 per cent at £3.6bn, more work is coming through framework agreements, with only a small percentage secured through competitive tender.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits for the year to December 2019 of £82.5m and EPS of 144p (from £81.6m and 144p in 2018).
MORGAN SINDALL (MGNS) | ||||
ORD PRICE: | 1,138p | MARKET VALUE: | £518m | |
TOUCH: | 1,130-1,138p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,554p | LOW: 1,000p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.7% | PE RATIO: | 8 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 762p* | NET CASH | £207m |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
2014 | 2.22 | 22.8 | 42.3 | 27 |
2015 | 2.38 | -14.8 | -22.6 | 29 |
2016 | 2.56 | 43.9 | 83.8 | 35 |
2017 | 2.79 | 64.9 | 119 | 45 |
2018 | 2.97 | 80.6 | 150 | 53 |
% change | +6 | +24 | +26 | +18 |
Ex-div: | 20 May | |||
Payment: | 25 Apr | |||
*Includes intangible assets of £216m, or 476p a share |