Next Fifteen converts growth into earnings and cash

Although the second half produced a slightly slower growth rate than the first, PR firm Next Fifteen really started converting top-line expansion into earnings growth last year. Figures for the year to the end of July show a near-50 per cent rise in profits on the back of a six per cent rise in revenues. The previously problematic UK end picked up strongly. Earnings jumped by a third – to just over 7p. If the company can sustain recent growth – and the continuing acquisition of new customers together with the continuing expansion into Asia suggest it can – it is likely to finish the current year with its shares on a single-digit earnings multiple once again.

Impressively, Next Fifteen converted its profits into cash. Debt fell over the year from £1.4 million to just £70,000, giving the group a lot of headroom to fund more acquisitions. The international PR market remains firm. The shares, now 88p compared with a recommendation level here back in September 2004 of 54p, continue to look cheap. Hold/Buy.