12 November 2018 – interim results

The company has reported strong results for the six months ended 30 September 2018.  Revenue was £28.6m (2017: £27.2m), operating profit was £1.7m (2017: £1.4m) and profit before tax was £1.6m (2017: £1.3m).  This translated into basic earnings per share of 6.9p (2017: 5.9p).  Strong cash generation was a feature once again and cash generated from operations was £2.0m (2017: £0.9m).  Net bank debt was £0.3m at the period end, down from £0.8m six months earlier and £0.6m a year earlier.  Company policy is to only pay a final dividend but clearly the level of cash being generated means that it is likely that the progressive dividend policy can continue.  The second half of the year is said to have started well and this makes the current share price look exceptionally good value.  We keep our STRONG BUY rating.