City File: Time Products

BROKER Albert E Sharp says prospects for Time Products are even better than the market thinks. Sharp has upgraded its profits forecast by pounds 0.5m to pounds 10.3m after Time's disposal of a property in Hong Kong - the relic of an unsuccessful move into watchmaking - at a surplus of pounds 1.5m over book value.

This leaves Time well placed as a distributor of watches (Longines, Sekonda etc) and owner of the Judith Leiber range of luxury handbags. At 221p, the shares are a snip on less than 14 times 1993 earnings, with more to come in 1994.