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07 Jun 17. Gooch & Housego delivering on key objectives. These half-year figures reveal that Gooch & Housego’s (GHH) investment in new products and subsidiaries is already delivering across the group. The photonics (light sciences) specialist revealed a 38 per cent increase in operating profit to £4.9m, although shareholders will probably be all the more pleased by a 71 per cent rise in the order book to £67m at the period-end.
The rise in intangibles shows the group has been on the acquisition trail, bringing in businesses like Kent Periscopes, Alfalight and StingRay Optics to increase exposure to higher-margin sub-sectors. This is reflected in a surge in revenues and strengthening adjusted operating margins for both the aerospace & defence and industrial divisions. The life sciences operating margin pulled back, but the group has been investing heavily to achieve “critical mass” in this growth sector. Revenue there were up by over a fifth driven by sales of retinal imaging systems.
The group is on the hook for a deferred contingent consideration of up to $10m (£7.7m) relating to the StingRay deal, but despite the spate of acquisitions, the balance sheet remains in good trim. G&H generated cash from operations of £7.9m, compared with £2.9m in the same period of 2016.
Broker finnCap expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £15.8m for the year to September 2018, leading to EPS of 46.4p, against £14.2m and 41.7p in FY2017.
IC VIEW: Management is positioning the group further “up the value chain”, with R&D spending – up 29 per cent – targeted at sustaining long-term growth. The shares now trade on a demanding enterprise value to forward cash profits multiple of 16 times. Back to hold. (Source: Investors Chronicle)
08 Jun 17. P4G Capital Partners buys Fore Machine and Aero Components. Private equity firm P4G Capital Partners has agreed to buy the assets and intellectual property of Fore Machine and Aero Components, the company announced on 6 June. Terms were not disclosed. Both acquired groups specialise in coating and bonding manufacturing needs in addition to metal processing and assembling.
The two companies are going to be combined into an unnamed new company owned by P4G, with the company saying that it anticipates further acquisitions to expand its holdings in the sector.
“Fore Machine and Aero Components represent the perfect first investment for our new platform,” P4G managing director Rachel Lehman said in a press release. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Jun 17. Navistar’s stock tumbles as continued weak used-truck market leads to large loss. Navistar International Corp.’s stock NAV, +3.03% tumbled 9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the truck and diesel engines maker swung to a wider-than-expected fiscal second-quarter loss. The net loss for the quarter to April 30 was $80m, or 86 cents a share, compared with a profit of $4m, or 5 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The latest quarter’s results include $18m in adjustments resulting from pre-existing warranties, asset impairment and debt financing charges and restructuring costs. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of 2 cents a share. Revenue slipped to $2.10bn from $2.20bn, just above the FactSet consensus of $2.07bn. Truck segment. (Source: Yahoo!/Marketwatch)
05 Jun 17. Cohort builds new business momentum. Cohort (CHRT) revealed that its subsidiary MCL (Marlborough Communications Ltd) has been awarded two contracts by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply and support hearing protection systems, worth a combined £5.5m to the defence contractor. One contract is a secondary order worth £3.2m for Tactical Hearing Protection Systems utilised by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the other a new five-y