24th May 2016 11:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - HomeServe PLC, the FTSE 250 home emergency insurance and repairs company, on Tuesday set out the extent of the opportunity for its US business, which helped to drive full-year profit higher and attract more customers.
Pretax profit rose to GBP82.6 million in the year ended March 31, HomeServe said in a statement, from GBP76.7 million a year earlier, as revenue increased to GBP633.2 million from GBP584.2 million, and the company increased its total dividend for the year to 12.7 pence from 11.5p.
The US arm, which generated an operating profit of GBP12.1 million before accounting for amortisation of intangible assets on revenue of GBP152.6 million, saw customer numbers rise by 17% to 2.3 million.
What's more, an agreement made in March to acquire Utility Service Partners for USD75.0 million in cash is set to add a further 9.4 million partner households and about 400,000 customers, HomeServe said.
"We are particularly excited by the prospects for our US business. Profits have increased significantly whilst at the same time delivering strong customer growth. The agreement to acquire Utility Service Partners, whilst providing a significant boost to FY18 profits will increase our US affinity partner households by 9.0 million to 42 million and will, as a result, enable us to accelerate our growth," Chief Executive Richard Harpin said in a statement.
HomeServe sees the US as its "most significant" opportunity. The country is one of HomeServe's five operating segments, the others being the UK, France, Spain and new markets such as Italy.
Nevertheless, the UK remained the biggest contributor to HomeServe's profit in the year to March 31, generating an operating profit of GBP58.0 million before accounting for amortisation of intangible assets on revenue of GBP291.8 million. "In the UK, we have a strong business, which has grown profit and customers," Harpin said.
France generated an operating profit of GBP23.2 million, before accounting for amortisation of intangible assets, on revenue of GBP77.4 million, while Spain generated GBP9.9 million on revenue of GBP97.5 million.
Harpin said he is confident HomeServe will deliver on its expectation of further good growth in the new financial year, alongside continued investment in marketing, business development, international expansion and innovation initiatives.
Shares in HomeServe were up 7.1% at 461.70 pence on Tuesday, the biggest riser in the FTSE 250.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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