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The year end trading update for 2017 indicates Gross Profit of c£33m (+11%) vs £29.7m in 2016 (H1'17 £16.5m) and adjusted EBITDA of c£2.5m (+9%) vs £2.3m in 2016 (H1'17 £1.16m). This implies good progress during the year. Business reorganisation benefits seem to be flowing through with profitability increasing. As the reorganisation is completed the scope for the focus on growth to improve will rise as well.
Porta Communications
Despite the BREXIT impact Porta delivered 4% LFL CER Gross Profit (essentially fee income) growth in 2016. Adjusted EBITDA edged down to £2.34m due to the BREXIT impact on PPS and investment made to strengthen the Newgate UK operation. More importantly, progress has commenced on positioning the Company for its new phase of growth and driving efficiency under the new executive team. The start to 2017 is encouraging with the Company indicating that the trading performance is substantially ahead of the prior year and budget. The combination of organic growth, some stake increases and FX tailwind implies attributable gross profit growth of c11%. We expect that cost adjustments will be made in due course to both improve overall efficiency and also optimise investment allocation to areas of growth. Hiring key staff in the strategic communications area is critical to making progress. An organisational review is also underway aimed at strengthening the finance and support functions. The Company has announced a variety of actions to improve its financing with an equity injection of up to £3m being sought from strategic investors whom the Company is having discussions with. To aid this the board is seeking shareholder approval for the authority to issue, on a pre-emptive basis, shares equivalent to c40% of the current issue capital. Discussions with senior debt providers are advanced and the current high margin will be reduced substantially if an adequate equity investment is secured. The company is engaged with several strategic investors who could provide equity investment. If Porta can grow its attributable revenues to c£24m (2016: £21.7m) and edge net debt down to c£7.5m this year then the equity would be worth between £16.5m and £28.5m assuming an EV/GP multiple range of 1.0x to 1.5x (reflecting a potential 10% to 15% margin).
In the past five years, Porta Communications has built a multi-capability global communications platform through organic start-ups and acquisitions. It has generated significant organic growth and has recently reported its first positive operating cash flow. There is much more to be done and the group has re-inforced its senior management team to allow sustained focus on generating growth within the existing client portfolio while continuing to identify strategic opportunities to expand. Profitability is improving rapidly and net debt is forecast to fall. We have initiated coverage ahead of the full year results announcement due in May, the positives of which were highlighted in the recent trading update. The shares are trading on a 54% discount to the wider media sector average.
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