MUR.L Share Price (MUR)

There's a lot to like about Murgitroyd based on these results:
1. Prudent management who are not afraid to invest in the business but otherwise committed to a progressive dividend policy and paying out surplus capital
2. Dividend has grown 50% odd in the space of four years and by 23.5% in the last year alone. Despite a strong run up in the SP dividend yield remains just under 3% - not bad in today's market
3. Brexit hedged. Increasingly diversified international revenue stream that on balance will benefit from any further GBP weakness
4. 50% gross margins, Mid-teen ROCE, net cash positive balance sheet, well invested asset base
On the flip side the missing piece of the puzzle is revenue growth, without which it's hard to see the shares making serious further progress from these levels. If mgmt could just build some revenue momentum the share could really fly on a mid-term basis. In the interim an interesting hold for those looking for a defensive, good dividend payer to diversify a portfolio.

Huge rise due to Questor in Telegraph

Sept 15 - no reason why directors sold down 15 months ago and recent net cash position likely to entice divi chasers!

Murgitroyd shares are rated at 12.7 times forecast earnings for 2013-14. That looks cheap compared with peer company RWS, whose shares trade on 18 times earnings, which is also the rating for the support services sector. That said, the share price is at a six-year high of 480p and within touching distance of its all-time high (520p). It's also difficult to deal in any quantity of shares. Still, if shares in a niche business with steady growth prospects are a sensible proposition, then Murgitroyd fits the bill...........but as always dyor and good luck.......

Keith Young, chief executive, says the reason behind the rising profitability is that Murgitroyd is getting more work done by its own patent attorneys. This reduces the amount they have to spend on costly external advisors in so-called disbursements, which go into the cost of sales. Encouragingly for investors, Murgitroyd increased its number of qualified attorneys during the first half from 64 to 67. True, there is some uncertainty on the horizon. The European Union recently reached agreement on the Unified Patent Court. This could greatly reduce the number of patent filings. There will no longer be a requirement to file patents in each EU country, as only one EU-wide filing will be required. Mr Young is unfazed. He says the new court will not open until 2014 at the earliest and, even when it does, it is unclear whether multi-nationals will prefer EU-wide patents to the existing tried-and-tested system. He doesnt anticipate a significant hit on revenues.