Why 4imprint Group plc Shares Jumped Today

4imprint Group (LON: FOUR) unveiled impressive third quarter sales numbers, underpinning the board’s expectations for a good result for the full year.

Mark Stones

Mark Stones (TMFMumbojumbones) joined The Motley Fool in 2014 and initially worked as a writer for Fool.co.uk, before joining the Fool’s analyst programme. Mark earned a BA in English from Loughborough University. Although he spends more time reading annual reports than Russian literature these days, he still appreciates a novelist’s antipathy toward the accepted view, which is a useful attitude when trying to sniff out hidden gems on the stock market. His approach to investing has been largely influenced by the principles of Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. He also takes a special interest in the work of healthcare companies. Outside of investing, Mark plays guitar, enjoys good writing and has a guilty passion for combat sports.

Published 24 October, 2014 10:29 am BST

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The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over every stock fluctuation, understanding how a business is performing, competing and changing is vital to sensible investment.

What: Shares of 4imprint (LSE: FOUR), the promotional products firm, rose by 11% to 767p in early trade after announcing third quarter revenue beat management’s expectations. Revenue was £66m (year-to-date: £182m), up 16% on the same period last year. The Direct Marketing business, which serves customers predominantly in North America, grew revenue by 27%.

So what: 4imprint said that growth was driven by “the rate of increase in marketing spend compared to last year”. Existing customers placed 25% more orders in the quarter, while orders from new customers also increased by 25%.

After today’s encouraging trading statement, the board expects it “will achieve a good result for the year as a whole”.

Now what: The board added that with effect from the FY2014 results announcement, 4imprint’s financial statements will be printed in US dollars. Future dividends will be determined in US dollars and paid in sterling at the exchange rate at the time the dividend is determined.

Prior to today, the City expected 4imprint to reveal a full year dividend of 18.6p per share. After this morning’s price movement the shares may offer a prospective income of 2.3%. Of course, the decision to ‘buy’ is entirely your own decision.