23rd Jan 2015 07:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sagentia Group PLC Friday said it is considering the return of about GBP10 million to shareholders by way of a tender offer following a review of its cash requirements.
In a statement, Sagentia said it reviewed its cash position after evaluating a number of potential acquisitions of different sizes in the past year.
"While the board has evaluated a number of potential acquisition opportunities of varying scale during the past year, in the absence of a major acquisition, the board has reviewed the cash requirements of the business and is considering a material return of cash to shareholders, anticipated to be in the order of GBP10 million, probably via a tender offer," Sagentia said in a statement.
At the end of 2014, Sagentia had net cash of GBP15.1 million.
News of the potential windfall came as Sagentia said it expects operating profit ahead of its expectations at the time of the interim results, citing "the mid-year correction in the sterling-dollar exchange rate".
For the year as a whole, the negative effect of foreign exchange rates in 2014 mean that Sagentia expects to report adjusted operating profit below the 2013 level of GBP5.7 million but would have exceeded this comparator on a constant currency basis.
Adjusted operating profit excludes amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets and share based payment charges.
"Trading in the second half of 2014 was stronger than the first half of the year and, despite a negative foreign exchange impact, the core consultancy fees increased in the second half relative to the same period in the prior year," Sagentia said.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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