7 December 2010 – interim results and acquisition
Interim results covering the six months to 1 October 2010 have been released. These were reasonably solid. Turnover rose by 24% to £12.3m and pre-tax profit was £1.95m versus £1.90m. Basic earnings per share edged up from 4.85p to 4.98p and the interim dividend was lifted from 1.63p to 1.67p, a 2.5% increase.
The acquisition of Amscreen M2M has also been announced. The initial cash consideration is £2.0m and there could be up to £1.4m of deferred consideration. We are not particularly excited by this development and overall although we have no specific concerns at this stage we feel that there is better value elsewhere. HOLD.