24 January 2019 – final results

In the year to 30 September the company reported a rise in revenues to £28.0m (2017: £22.5m), whilst adjusted pre-tax profits rose to a record £2.18m (2017: £1.83m).  Earnings per share on the same basis emerged at 15.7p (2017: 13.8p) and the total dividend for the year was raised to 2.9p (2017: 2.7p).  These were exceptional results as expected and net debt at the year end had fallen to £1.97m (2017: £2.75m) for gearing of 15.5% (2017: 25.7%).  The current year is unlikely to be as good as last year as there has been a slowdown in the order book and there have been delays on some contracts.  Nevertheless, although the shares are unlikely to move much higher until there is further evidence that business is picking up, they stand on a very low rating and we believe they are a LONG TERM BUY.