Tangent Communications

Technology-led marketing group Tangent more than doubled sales and profits in the year to February – to £17.4m and £2.1m pre-tax – and continues to hunt for acquisitions after failing in a recent bid for AIM peer TMN Group.

March 2007 acquisition Ravensworth contributed £7.4m to the top line and profits of £1.1m, but its exposure to the estate agency sector seems to be an ongoing concern for investors, allayed by the expansion of Home Information Pack regulations. But this arm of the business plans to concentrate on clinching non-property clients and has already won a significant contract with Lloyds TSB.

Tangent's core business – offering marketing services across platforms such as digital, print, web and mobile for diverse clients such as the Labour Party and Sainsbury’s – grew 22% organically last year. Tangent has begun to develop proprietary internet search-optimisation services and has unveiled a new joint venture to sell its proprietary software to corporate institutions.

Revealing the company has just had a 'record April', joint chief executive Nick Green says he is 'confident' Tangent's technology is well suited to manage the shift from the large-scale marketing campaigns that typify boom times to the direct, focused marketing that occurs when times get tough. Green and his joint chief executive brother, Tim, are confident enough to offer a maiden dividend of 0.2p, of which uncle and 31.98% shareholder Michael Green, the founder of Carlton Communications, will be a major beneficiary.

For February 2009, house broker Collins Stewart forecasts a modest sales increase to £19m and profits 13% up to £2.9m, raising earnings 0.1p to 1.2p. Tangent is debt free and with £2.7m cash to hand, and further acquisitions are possible but media sector uncertainty and this year’s botched approach for TMN mean Tangent shares, recommended by Growth Company Investor at 12.25p, trade on a miserly forward multiple of 7.5 times. Sit tight for share price recovery.