News blog
Baqus
- BY: Andrew Hore |
- POSTED: 27/10/2009 |
Quantity surveyor Baqus reported lower full year profits as margins started to come under pressure.
Revenues increased from a pro forma figure of £7.7m in 2007-08 to £7.85m in the year to June 2009. Profits declined from £1.06m to £739,000. There was an even split between the first and second half profits but second half revenues were slightly lower.
Some of the company’s fees are based on a percentage of construction costs, which have fallen over the past year. Management expects this year to continue to be challenging.
Management has done well to maintain its underlying overheads at a similar level to the previous year. There was a fall in the first half as the three businesses that came together to form Baqus in 2007 started to benefit from integration but the summer 2008 acquisition Sworn King has been included for a full six months in the second half.
Nigel Rose Group was acquired at the end of the period and this added around £500,000 to working capital. That held back cash generation. Net cash was £86,000 at the end of June 2009.
A final dividend of 0.06468p a share has been declared to go with the interim of 0.05p a share. This is lower than the 0.11p a share final dividend paid last year but Baqus has a policy of paying out 25% of earnings per share as a dividend.
Chief executive Clive Sayer believes that this is a good time to be looking for acquisitions. In the busy times firms are busy working on projects and don’t have much time to consider their long-term future. They are also enjoying high profits. Now, though, trading is tougher and profits are declining. This means that bids are more likely to be considered seriously and there will also be more realistic price expectations. Sayer says that Nigel Rose Group fits this description.
At 3.5p a share, down 1p, Baqus is valued at £3.96m. Seymour Pierce is reviewing its forecasts for this year.
The public sector is an important source of work and some projects are being delayed. It is uncertain what will happen after the next General Election.
© 2024 Aim Micro. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- Browse by issue
- All issues
- Popular tags
- All tags
- AIM Micro feeds
Keep up to date with articles published at AIMMicro.com. Subscribe to AIM Micro RSS Feeds
|