1 December 2016 – interim results
The project management and consultancy group has announced its interim results for the six months to 30 September and, including its share of joint ventures, these have shown revenue up 17% to £73.5m (2015: £62.6m) with adjusted pre-tax profit rising by 18% to £2.6m (2015: £2.2m). Earnings per share on the same basis were 12% higher at 3.7p (2015: 3.3p) and the interim dividend was raised by 20% to 0.6p (2015: 0.5p). At the end of the period the group had net debt of £4.9m (H1 2015: net cash £3.4m) reflecting higher working capital requirements driven by the increase in revenues, deferred consideration on acquisitions and spending on legacy items. Operating cashflow during the period was strong though and the debt figure should reduce in the second half. These are excellent results and the group has seen little impact so far from the Brexit vote. The group ended the period with a strong order book of £164m (H1 2015: £123m) providing a sound platform for the second half. With full year pre-tax profits before exceptional items likely to be £9.9m for earnings per share on the same basis of 13.5p, the shares look cheap. BUY.