19th Aug 2015 07:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish engineering company Mincon Group PLC on Wednesday said its pretax profit was dragged lower by higher costs in the first half, offsetting a rise in revenue for the group.
The company, which focuses on rock drilling tools and associated products said its pretax profit in the half to the end of June was down to EUR4.5 million from EUR5.5 million a year earlier, primarily due to a rise in operating costs to EUR9.0 million from EUR5.9 million.
The rise in operating costs offset a big increase in revenue in the half, up to EUR32.7 million from EUR23.4 million, as sales of Mincon products rose by 35% and sales of third party products rose 61%. Mincon said the growth was largely driven by acquisitions.
The group said was pleased that demand for its products has remained solid on a like-for-like basis, given the impact the downturn in the mining industry has had on market pricing and sales of exploration product and capital equipment.
Mincon said it will pay a 1 euro cent per share interim dividend, flat year-on-year.
The group said its markets remain challenging and there is not yet any evidence that demand in its end markets will change significantly in the second half. As a result, the group is taking steps to manage its cost base and said the volatility in currency markets remains a concern.
Shares in Mincon were untraded early Wednesday, having last traded at EUR0.694.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Mincon Grp