12 March 2012 – final results
Results for 2011 have been released, although these are somewhat clouded by a non-recurring charge of £3.4m relating to historic trading of Sumus sub-group and network re-organisations. This saw a basic loss per share of 1.92p versus earnings of 1.14p a year earlier. Before non-recurring operating expenses basic earnings per share jumped from 0.30p to 0.72p.
The strong balance sheet, with net cash of £11.0m, is clearly very appealing, as is the dividend payout. The final dividend was 0.27p (2010: 0.24p), taking the total for the year to 0.40p (2010: 0.36p). However, the introduction of the Retail Distribution Review is on the horizon and that brings significant uncertainty. We rate the shares as a HOLD.