21 February 2019 – interim results
On the back of an unexpected profit warning a day earlier, interim results for the six months to 31 December 2018 have shown that revenue from continuing operations was up 10.5% to £369.2m in the first half. Adjusted profit before taxation was £14.5m versus £14.6m a year earlier, with adjusted diluted earnings per share static at 5.6p. The interim dividend was held at 1.5p per share. The near term outlook is somewhat uncertain but the share price has fallen too far and we see fair value at between 102p and 127p, representing between 8x and 10x adjusted diluted earnings per share for last year. BUY FOR RECOVERY.