The Human Screen thinks we already have a perfectly good medium of exchange, called money, so he wasn’t expecting to be intrigued by a company supplying vouchers, gift and reward cards, and Christmas hampers.

Highlights

• Adjusted operating profit up 22%
• Net profit of ''6.5m compared to net cash flow of ''6m (''6m after net capital expenditure)
• Net cash up 35% to ''9m, not including ''2m pension deficit

The Human Screen comments:

But the proliferation of alternatives to money, or the good old fashioned debit card, means the Human Screen is in a minority. Park is a profitable, well established company founded in 1967 by its outgoing chairman.

It started life as a Christmas hamper company and still operates a Christmas savings club, and a paper voucher business, but recent growth has come from the introduction of its flexecash prepaid gift and reward card platform which allows it to supply gift cards to retailers, and reward cards to marketeers and employers. It also operates highstreetvouchers.com a gift voucher portal.

Operating profits have gradually improved over the last five years, and the company also receives income from the cash it holds in trust for savers and its own cash balance. That sum varies enormously over the year, peaking at ''152m last year.

On a PE of 11.5 the Human Screen thinks the company is not obviously cheap, but he’s impressed by its inventiveness.

^HS= (The Human Screen is ambivalent about Park)