Shares in the UK electronics and industrial company TT Group Plc leapt to their highest point in eight months on Monday with a strong buy stamp from the market. Preliminary results for the year to December 31 show record profits from activities as diverse as electronic components, glass bottles and even suspended ceilings. Pre-tax profit is up 19.2% to 53.5m pounds on revenue up 8.5% to 520.4m pounds. Group chairman John Newman was justifiably pleased with performance over the year calling them excellent results. The group ended the year with cash reserves of 22.3m pounds and it has every intention of using this resource to buy up more subsidiaries. The group is beginning to take on a real conglomerate feel with its unusual mixture of high and low technology activities. Newman stated that most activities are now fair game for acquisition provided they offered long-term growth potential. He was careful not to present a reckless image by underlining the group’s past success in picking the right company at the right price (CI 2,875). Performance from past acquisitions has certainly not been instantaneous however. The three acquisitions in 1996 were made at a cost of 6.7m pounds but contributed only 500,000 pounds to operating profit. Management philosophy involves the rapid introduction of TT Group ideas and financial controls. The favored yardstick for performance monitoring at TT Group appears to be the return on capital employed. This has helped the group maintain a rock-solid balance sheet with low levels of working capital and stock and an even lower level of long term debt (interest cover is around 28). With many struggling companies currently in the mood for divesting of ‘non core’ activities, TT Group Plc continues to revel in its diversity. The board recommends a final dividend of 4.79, bringing the total for the year to 7.59p. The growth in dividend of 16.4% reflects the stated policy of increasing dividends in line with earnings.
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