Luceco’s improved full-year profit guidance failed to inspire investors on Tuesday, with shares falling despite the group highlighting booming demand for electric vehicle chargers and related energy products.
The electrical products maker, whose range spans wiring accessories, EV chargers and LED lighting, said revenue rose 13.4% to £142.6m in the six months to 30 June, with adjusted operating profit up 14.5% to £15.8m.
Its fast-growing “Energy Transition” business, mainly EV charging, more than doubled, with revenue up 120%, while its core products grew a solid 6.5%. It raised its interim dividend 17% to 2.1p.
The company said EV charger sales had also built a recurring revenue stream through “demand flexibility,” a scheme that pays for adjusting charging to help balance the electricity grid, with more than 30,000 of its chargers now enrolled, though it noted that regulatory changes were reducing the revenue earned per charger to a more sustainable level.
This may be why the group received a lukewarm reception on Tuesday as shares dropped 5%.
Statutory operating profit was flat, held back by one-off charges including costs related to a change of chief executive, with Dr Thorsten Müller taking the helm this month.
On the strength of the performance, Luceco said it now expected full-year adjusted operating profit to come in ahead of market expectations. Unfortunately, investors weren’t impressed and the stock dropped despite it trading on a fairly reasonable multiple.