29th May 2015 17:29
LONDON (Alliance News) - AA PLC Friday said its subsidiary, AA Bond Co Ltd reported a fall in pretax profit in the last financial year after it booked higher costs and booked more exceptional items as revenue rose.
AA Bond Co reported a pretax profit of GBP113.6 million for the year ended January 31, falling from a GBP214.6 million profit a year earlier despite revenue rising to GBP981.6 million from GBP973.6 million.
Profit fell on higher exceptional items related to AA PLC's IPO, which totalled GBP33.5 million from GBP14.3 million and amortisation and depreciation increasing to GBP48.3 million from GBP39.6 million. Administrative expenses also increased to GBP297.8 million from GBP258.7 million and finance costs rose to GBP227.8 million from GBP154.9 million.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at GBP430.7 million, experiencing a slight rise from GBP422.9 million.
"Operationally, the AA continued to deliver excellent service to our millions of customers in the UK and Ireland. Our 3,000 patrols attended some 10,000 breakdowns a day; we sold more than two million insurance policies; and our 2,670 franchised driving instructors taught people to drive. These statistics demonstrate the robust nature and scale of our business," it said in a statement.
The roadside assistance division reported a rise in revenue and earnings as business customers increased, but personal customers fell. The division attended around the same amount of breakdowns in the year.
The insurance division saw revenue fall alongside earnings as it lost over 120 policies whilst the driving service division reported broadly flat revenue but a rise in earnings even though it had fewer instructors.
AA shares closed down 0.8% to 409.00 pence per share on Friday.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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