19th May 2015 06:56
LONDON (Alliance News) - Engineering software company Aveva Group PLC on Tuesday said its pretax profit fell by 20% in the year to the end of March, as revenue was hit by falling demand in the oil and gas industry, though the group tried to sweeten the pill for shareholders by hiking its final dividend by 14%.
FTSE 250-listed Aveva said its pretax profit for the year to the end of March was GBP54.9 million, down from GBP69 million a year earlier. The fall in profit was driven by a 12% decline in revenue in the year to GBP208.7 million from GBP237.3 million.
Revenue was dragged lower by the tough conditions in the oil and gas market, which meant rental licence fee revenue was down by 7%, while initial licence fee revenue fell by 31%. Aveva said that its performance did improve in the second half of the year, though demand from customers exposed to the oil and gas market remain under pressure.
Still, Aveva has proposed a final dividend of 25 pence per share, up from 22 pence a year earlier, meaning its total dividend for the year will be 30.5 pence, up 13% from 27 pence in 2014.
"Overall I am very pleased with the strategic and operational progress we have made during the period. Despite the difficult trading environment, we have demonstrated our ability to capitalise on our strengths: a broad international reach and strong competitive positioning in all of our markets," said Aveva Chief Executive Richard Longdon.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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