logo-loader

Morgan Crucible full year profits tumble 45% as margins get squeezed

Last updated: 10:04 18 Feb 2010 GMT, First published: 11:04 18 Feb 2010 GMT

no_picture_pai

Carbon and ceramic products manufacturer and FTSE 250 constituent Morgan Crucible (LSE: MGCR) said full year pre-tax profits plummeted 45% to £31.4 million and earnings declined to £89 million as margins narrowed from 13% in 2008 to 9.4% in 2009, though a “game changing” focus on cost control led to an improvement in the margins from 9.2% in the first half to 9.7% in the second half of the year.


Full year revenues climbed 12.9% year on year to £942.6 million.


Net cash flow from operations rose 21% to £134.5 million, helping the group reduce debt by £37.7 million to £252.7 million and maintain the net debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) at 2.1 times as well as leave the final dividend unchanged at 4.5 pence to give a full year dividend of 7 pence.


“Throughout 2009 we maintained a proactive stance of tight operational management and a rigorous focus on cash generation. As a result, our margins held up robustly and operating cash flow was strong, underpinning the board's decision to maintain the dividend. Over the last 5 years we have improved the group's business model. Our portfolio transition toward higher growth, higher margin, less economically cyclical markets, our sustained pricing discipline and our unremitting focus on cost control has changed the game at Morgan Crucible,” said Chief Executive of Morgan Crucible Mark Robertshaw.


The group also said that order intake has improved over the past few months, but it was too early to call a recovery.

HANetf founder and co-CEO discusses shift to active management in ETF market

HANetf founder and co-CEO Hector McNeil tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about shifting trends in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) market in the United States, indicating a big move towards active management within ETFs. Despite the European market lagging behind the US by three to five years,...

16 hours, 3 minutes ago