29th Nov 2013 10:54
LONDON (Alliance News) - Electronics supplier Acal PLC Friday reported an increase in profit and revenues in the first half of the financial year, driven by recent acquisitions and a cross-selling initiative, as it announced that it has now bought a German power systems supplier.
The company reported a pretax profit of GBP3.3 million for the six months to end-September, up from GBP0.7 million a year earlier as revenues grew to GBP113.4 million from GBP109.8 million and administrative costs fell.
It said electronics orders were up 15% at constant exchange rates and 4% on a like-for-like basis. Including acquisitions, orders were up 16% and sales up 12%. Excluding the acquisitions, sales fell 1%, although they grew 3% in the second quarter.
Its cross-selling initiative, aimed at getting clients to buy a broader range of its products, generated GBP2 million of incremental sales compared to the prior year.
It said The Myrra Group, which it acquired at the beginning of this year, has started well with 7% growth in orders and 5% growth in sales. Young Electronics, acquired at the end of August, is due to be integrated at the end of this financial year, with the resulting synergies expected to deliver a profitable business unit next year.
"Whilst market conditions have improved, growth in the Eurozone is still tentative, as evidenced by recent manufacturing PMI data. Despite this, our second half has started well with further growth in orders in the third quarter, which is expected to lead to steady sales growth through the second half and into next year," the company said in a statement.
It kept its interim dividend unchanged at 2.5 pence.
Seaparetely, Acal said it has bought German power systems supplier RSG Electronic Components GmbH for an upfront cash payment of EUR3 million and a deferred cash payment of EUR0.25 million.
RSG Electronic has 15 staff and made revenues of EUR4.8 million in 2012.
It expects the acquistion to be earnings enhancing on an underlying profit basis for the current year.
Acal shares were down 3.5% at 359.85 pence Thursday having risen strongly over the last year from about 160 pence.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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