January 15, 2024
Knutsford Express Services Limited (KEX) for the six months ended November 30, 2023, reported a 19% increase in Revenue totaling $965.09 million compared to $813.05 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the second quarter had a 19% increase to close at $473.30 million compared to $397.96 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.
The Company noted, “Contributions in rental income from our Drax Hall Business Centre and our café have combined to increase our results in terms of revenue and profits.”
Administrative and General Expenses amounted to $767.55 million (2022: $625.48 million), this represents an increase of 23% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 5% to $197.54 million compared to $187.57 million in 2022. The company booked gross profit of $86.09 million for the second quarter versus $75.42 million reported for the similar quarter of 2022.
Finance Income jumped by 584% to close at $10.09 million (2022: $1.47 million), while Finance costs increased by 11% from $27.75 million in 2022 to $30.80 million in the period under review. As a result, profit before taxation for the six months amounted to $176.84 million, a 10% increase relative to $161.30 million reported in 2022.
Taxation Charge for the six months amounted to $18.98 million, a 4% increase relative to $18.19 million reported in 2022. Taxation Charge for the second quarter amounted to $6.58 million (2022: $5.49 million).
Net profit, being total comprehensive income for the period, totalled $157.86 million, a 10% increase from the corresponding period last year. (2022: $143.11 million). For the second quarter, Net profit, being total comprehensive income was $71.67 million (2022: $58.88 million).
Consequently, Earnings Per Share for the six months amounted to $0.32 (2022: EPS: $0.29), while Earnings Per Share for the quarter totaled $0.14 (2022: EPS: $0.12). The twelve-month trailing EPS was $0.64, and the number of shares used in these calculations was 500,000,015.
Notably, KEX’s stock price closed the trading period on January 12, 2024, at a price of $12.40 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 19.43x.
KEX highlighted, “Our plan of investing in our coaches and stations, of adding capacity, convenience, enhanced customer experience and gains in operational efficiency and productivity is well underway that should allow us to record sustainable growth.”
Balance Sheet Highlights
The company’s assets totalled $1.83 billion (2022: $1.56 billion). This was attributed to a 40% rise in ‘Short term investments’ closing at $313.52 million.
Shareholder’s equity was $1.15 billion (2022: $894.21 million), representing a book value per share of $2.30 (2022: $1.79).
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