Questor share tips: Hill & Smith weathers the downturn

By Garry White 540PM GMT 09 March 2010

Midlands-based industrial organisation Hill & Smith has weathered the downturn flattering well and the concentration on money government has put it in a clever position.

Last"s year"s results, expelled yesterday, came in forward of expectations. Revenues fell by 7pc to �389m, but pre-tax increase rose to �39.7m from �35.1m in 2008 - attack a jot down high in one of the toughest years the industry has seen for sometime. This is a credit to the group"s cost slicing and money government drive.

RM Education outlay in UK should be protected Bunzl has been left at the back of and should broach the products BG Group strategically diversifies in to shale gas Investors should be galvanized by Hill & Smith Kier Group builds on the clever amicable housing on all sides

The organisation even managed to condense the net debt to �87.6m from �146.2m over the 12-month period.

Hill & Smith operates in 3 groups infrastructure, galvanising and building a whole and building a whole products. It is unprotected to impulse outlay on both sides of the Atlantic.

The roads operation of the infrastructure commercial operation has been clever via the downturn. It now has all of the highway barriers that widen to 173,000m in make use of on the UK roads network. With the contracts for roadworks on the M1 and M25, it has 45pc of commercial operation for this operation for the subsequent 3 years.

Derek Muir, the group"s arch senior manager told Questor yesterday that the galvanising commercial operation was fast and the organisation has proposed to see a collect up in the building a whole operations.

It has additionally not long ago won contracts for new travel lighting columns in Hampshire and Surrey and it is behest for contracts in Oldham, Rochdale and Coventry.

Moreover, the association is seeking to expand. It is already one of the country"s largest suppliers of galvanised steel, with Mr Muir seeking for a move in to renewables. Solar panels need to be trustworthy to buildings in steel frames and this is the main area of interest, but the association additionally wants commercial operation in utilities.

Hill is expanding the operations in US, India and China. Its initial US galvanising plant in Delaware had a successful initial year and it has introduced the proxy car patience system, Zoneguard, in to Canada.

The association increasing the full-year division remuneration by 15pc to 11.5p. The last remuneration of 6.8p will be paid on Jul 9 and the shares traffic ex-dividend for this remuneration on Jun 2. The division is 3.3 times lonesome by earnings.

The shares were initial endorsed at 202p on Feb 7 last and they are up 74pc compared with a marketplace up 30pc.

Trading on a Dec 2010 gain mixed of only 9.2 times and agreeable 3.3pc, the position stays buy.