All the numbers continue to add up at Accuma, the Manchester-based consumer finance group which joined AIM a year ago at 82p and was subsequently backed here at 181.5p.

Chief executive and 28% shareholder Charles Howson has unveiled superb half-time figures to end-January, with Accuma moving into profit on a dramatic 310% leap in turnover to £4.1m. Losses of £40,000 were converted to pre-tax profits of £304,000, ahead of forecasts.

Howson explained the market for individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), of which Accuma has 12%, doubled in size in 2005 and is widely expected to double again this year. Levels of unsecured debt are set to swell to over £200bn in 2006 in the current ‘buy now, pay later’ culture. One of Accuma’s strengths is the relationships it sports with credit agencies, which are a key source of new case referrals and cut reliance on pricey advertising campaigns.

Last year’s £3.3m acquisition Wilson Phillips, a profitable and cash-generative venture also boasting good referral relationships, has been integrated well too, offering up great synergies. Accuma closed the half with £1.3m cash on the balance sheet, a figure since swelled to £5.8m following a £4.7m February placing priced at a healthy 200p.

For the year to July, house broker Daniel Stewart & Co suggests a move from losses of £473,000 to pre-tax profits of over £2 million, giving earnings of 7.52p and a pricey forward p/e of 36 times. Nevertheless, this rating is more than justified by growth rates and there is plenty of profitable growth for the group to chase in a buoyant market. Book profits, but be sure to retain exposure to the stock. Reduce.

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Accuma	AIM	£2.37m	7.25p	0.00p
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