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15 Mar 2023
Centaur Media : Destination in sight - Buy

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Centaur Media : Destination in sight - Buy
Centaur Media plc (CAU:LON) | 41.5 0.2 1.2% | Mkt Cap: 62.8m
- Published:
15 Mar 2023 -
Author:
Alastair Reid | Ross Broadfoot -
Pages:
6 -
Robust momentum: Centaur has today reported strong FY results, with revenue up 6% to £41.6m and EBITDA of £8.5m (5% ahead of cons), a margin of 20.4%. Impressively, repeatable revenue is now 77% of the group. Net cash (pre-IFRS16) ended the year at £16.0m – management announced a FY ordinary dividend per share of 1.1p but, following on from the 3.0p special dividend announced in January, announced another 2.0p special dividend – a total of 6.1p per share. Both Xeim and The Lawyer delivered revenue modestly ahead of our updated assumptions, but Xeim profitability was the key driver of out-performance.
Strategy taking effect: Management notes that the Flagship 4 brands have underpinned momentum in the group in 2022, helped by both cross-selling initiatives and new product launches to grow average revenue per major client – in particular we would highlight The Lawyer performing ahead of expectations (with corporate renewal rates reaching 116%) and MW Mini MBA delivering 7% growth despite tough comparables, supported by price inflation. On the outlook, the focus on organic growth combined with cost control continues, with trading in 2023 thus far in line with expectations – despite the macro uncertainty, mgmt. expects to deliver on the MAP23 targets.
Still fundamentally the wrong price: The share price rose sharply in the early part of 2023, helped by the first special dividend, but the shares still only trade at <6x calendar FY24E EBITDA – we believe this significantly under-values the faster, and increasingly resilient, long-term growth trajectory of the group as it becomes even more integral to the operations of its blue-chip customers. If public markets do not reflect this over time, we believe – as seen in other sector examples recently –trade / private buyers may take advantage of this.