Results round-up: Informa, Synthomer, Ultra Electronics

International business intelligence, exhibitions, events and academic publishing group Informa posted its results for the 12 months to 31 December on Monday, reporting an improved operating performance and continued progress with its 2014-2017 growth acceleration plan, which the board said was supported by strong returns from acquisitions and favourable currency trends.

The FTSE 100 company’s revenue was up 11% year-on-year, at £1.35bn - with organic revenue growth at 1.6% - while its adjusted operating profit was up 13.8% at £416.1m.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share were 6.6% firmer at 42.1p, and Informa’s board confirmed growth of 4.3% in the total dividend to 19.3p.

Its free cash flow remained in line with the prior year at £305.7m, against £303.4m in 2015, while its balance sheet was described as “robust” with net debt-to-EBITDA at 2.6x, compared to 2.2x in 2015, with the 2016 figure including the £1.2bn Penton addition.

Statutory operating profit was lower at £198.8m, however, against £236.5m in the prior year.

“2016 was a steady and strong year for the group, where the business grew on all key financial measures, whilst expanding significantly in the US and investing substantially in its products,” said group chief executive Stephen A. Carter.

“This sets Informa up well for further progress in 2017.”

Carter said the current year would be characterised by “accelerated change” as Informa combined the newly-acquired Penton business with the group, and as it completed planned growth acceleration plan investments, reaping the benefits of its international scale and continuing to strengthen capabilities across the group.

Synthomer

Chemicals company Synthomer reported a second consecutive year of record profits with a rise in pre-tax earnings following strong performances in Europe and North America.

Revenue in 2016 climbed 20% to £1.04bn, or 10.8% on a constant currency basis, when compared to the previous year, which resulted in a second consecutive year of record profits with underlying earnings up 28.2% to £122.2m.

The FTSE 250 company said this was due to a strong organic performance in Europe and North America with improved margins and stable volumes as well as the Asia and the rest of world segments performing ahead of expectations and a good showing from its nitrile latex product.

IFRS pre-tax profit increased 88.6% to £136.7m due to £33.2m profits on the Malaysian land sales and the £4.7m sale of its South African business.

Underlying earnings per share rose 31.6% to 28.3p each and the company declared a final dividend of 7.8p, up from 5.4p, resulting in a total payout for the year of 11.3p, an increase from 8.6p.

Chairman Neil Johnson said: "Looking ahead, we expect to continue to see resilient trading in Europe, although the raw material and macroeconomic environments remain volatile. Whilst we envisage our Asian Nitrile business will be further impacted by the introduction of the additional industry capacity in 2016, this will be partially offset by a full year of PAC and 10 months of Perstorp Belgium included in the 2017 results.

"Despite these uncertainties and challenges, the board's expectations remain unchanged from the trading update on 20 January and we remain confident in delivering long term growth in profitability and shareholder value."

Separately, Synthomer announced it had bought Perstorp Oxo Belgium from the Perstorp Group, a Sweden-based chemicals supplier, for €78m a part of its growth strategy.

This builds on its acquisition of PAC in June 2016 for $221m, which the company said strengthened its position in the adhesives and coatings market, while the integration of PAC is on track to deliver synergies of $12m in the next two years.

The company believes that Perstorp Belgium is complementary to its existing markets and so Synthomer will aim to develop closer relationships with Perstorp Belgium's customers by leveraging its existing sales and technical services.

Ultra Electronics

Strong cash generation and order intake helped Ultra Electronics drive full-year bottom-line growth despite delays to a small number of export contracts.

The defence electronics specialist saw full-year 2016 top-line growth of 8.2% to £785.58m, while underlying profits before tax increased 6.9% to £120.1m.

Net debt as a porportion of earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation was reduced to 1.76 times, alongside an improvement in operating margins to 16.7%.

On an IFRS basis, profits jumped 94.3% to £67.6m as its organic order intake grew by 10.4% and by 22.0% in total terms.

The company forecast a return to growth for the global defence market, amid increased spending from the US government and amid heightened global tensions.

The total 2016 dividend payout was hiked by 3.7% to 47.8p and the final dividend by 4.0% to 33.6p.