Target price 280p says IC's ST30 Aug 2016 13:39
Simon Thompson of IC today says in update-
A boot'ful investment
The key takes for me in the half-year results of small-cap property and construction company Henry Boot (BHY:208p) was not that it's trading ahead of previous expectations after land sales were completed earlier than expected ('Boot'ful land sales boost Henry Boot', 9 Jun 2016), but that activity and deals are progressing as envisaged with little negative impact since the Brexit vote.
Land development division Hallam Land secured planning consent on more than 4,100 plots in the six-month period and now has 15,183 plots across 47 sites for sale, and a further 9,500 plots across 18 sites subject to planning applications. Pricing levels since the EU referendum have been maintained and the £111m book value of land investments, held at the lower of cost or net realisable value, affords substantial asset backing. A doubling of Hallam Land's first-half operating profits to £13.3m, and a 50 per cent-plus rise in profits from commercial property developments were the key reasons behind Henry Boot's pre-tax profits and EPS rising by half to £20.8m and 11.9p, respectively. Full-year EPS expectations of 20.3p support a raised payout of 6.5p a share and look well within reach.
Moreover, as the pre-let commercial development pipeline completes over the next few years this will result in the company being cash-flow-positive, thus placing it in a strong position to exploit any acquisition opportunities. In any case, net debt is already comfortable at 25 per cent of shareholders' funds, so the company's balance sheet is hardly overgeared. Henry Boot also holds £118m of income-producing investment property, so offering further asset backing, and a de-risked commercial development pipeline, both of which are supportive of decent earnings growth in the years to come.
True, the shares have yet to make any meaningful headway on my 205p buy-in price ('A bootiful investment', 19 Feb 2015), but I still believe this is a rock solid company and one where my heavily discounted sum-of-the-parts
valuation of 280p a share is warranted. Buy.
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