20th Jul 2015 14:30
LONDON (Alliance News) - Energy efficiency products company Entu (UK) PLC said Monday afternoon it is on track to meet market expectations for its full year, as it posted a fall in pretax profit for its first half.
Entu proposed a maiden interim dividend of 2.67 pence, and reiterated its plans to propose a final dividend of 5.33 pence. Entu listed on AIM in October 2014.
Entu posted a pretax profit of GBP3.8 million for the half year to end-April, down from GBP5.6 million a year before, as revenue declined to GBP52.9 million from GBP56.1 million.
The company attributed the fall in its revenue to the "normal seasonality of the business". It said a fall in the performance of its Insulation business offset gains by its Home Improvements segment. Entu also saw a slowdown in its solar photovoltaics activity.
Additionally, the company saw a reduction in energy company obligation funding, meaning revenue it receives from utility companies and brokers in respect to carbon offset tonnage arising from the supply and installation of its products.
The company said its second half is seasonally stronger than the first for its core business. It cited a strong pipeline of agreements and a large potential customer base.
Entu noted that the European Court of Justice recently ruled that the UK's 5% rate of VAT on energy efficiency products is in breach of EU law, which raises the prospect of an increase in the VAT rate to 20%. As Entu already applies a full 20% rate of VAT to large majority of its products, it said it does not expect this to have a material hit to its performance.
"We have seen and continue to see increased activity levels in the second half, and we remain on track to meet market expectations for the full year," said Chief Executive Ian Blackhurst in a statement.
Shares in Entu are trading down 1.1% at 114.20 pence Monday afternoon.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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