reports
Update: Strong start to FY16
Quarto has had a good start to 2016 with the momentum from FY15 carrying into the first quarter, normally the quietest period of the year. The natural seasonality gives a revenue bias to H2, which management has said will be greater this year, and our full year forecasts are unchanged. Further meaningful progress has been made on debt reduction, consistent with our year-end forecast of $53.5m, achieved without compromise on investment in IP, the lifeblood of the business. The rating continues to...
Update: 40 years young
At the start of its 41st year of operations, Quarto delivered a strong FY15 performance, as indicated by January’s pre-close update. Revenue and margin were both ahead, there was notable progress on debt reduction and a step-up in the dividend. With the activists off the share register as of November 2015 (their shares placed with a spread of institutional funds), the board structure is also now being normalised, with two independent non-executive appointments (one to take the chair). Investme...
Update: Strong Q4 delivers FY15 ahead of forecasts
Quarto’s profits are H2 weighted and, in FY15, Q4 proved a particularly strong trading period. At end Q315, the group was on track to meet FY15 expectations; at the year-end update, the indication is that results will be ahead of forecasts, allowing a rise in dividend. Net debt of $59.7m was $21.7m lower than the 2011 peak, reflecting good cash conversion. The share price performed well over H215 (helped by the normalisation of the share register), but has drifted off with the market more rece...
Flash note: Turning a page
Harwood Capital and the Wellcome Trust have placed their substantial shareholdings in The Quarto Group, drawing a line under a long period of on-off activism dating back for more than 12 years. Just below six million shares, representing 30.9% of non-treasury equity, have been placed with a broad spread of well-known institutional shareholders. This implies a meaningful uplift in the free float, with potential improvement in liquidity in the shares – one of the key hurdles that needed to be ov...
Update: Underlying publishing revenues ahead
Quarto’s Q315 trading update indicates that full year results are on track to meet management expectations for the full year, with profits strongly weighted to the final quarter. Group revenues were flat at $54.4m (Q314: $54.5m), with the benefits of acquisitions and positive performance from the underlying publishing businesses being offset by the twin impacts of currency and difficult trading in Australia and New Zealand. With earnings clearly on a rising trend and the debt level continuing ...
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