29th Jul 2014 06:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - GKN PLC said Tuesday that pretax profit rose in its first-half while revenues declined marginally due to a currency translation impact.
In its results for the half-year to June 30, 2014, the British multinational automotive and aerospace components company said pretax profit rose 6% to GBP296 million from GBP278 million in the comparative period last year. GKN said that the pretax profit reading was boosted somewhat as GBP24 million of adverse currency this half offset restructuring costs of GBP25 million in the first-half of 2013.
GKN recorded a marginal decline in revenue for the period, down 1% to GB3.83 billion from GBP3.387 billion as a GBP247 million currency translation impact hit its balance sheet. On an organic basis, revenue was up 6%.
The FTSE 100-listed company has increased its interim dividend to 2.8 pence per share, up 8% on the 2.6 pence per share paid in the first-half of 2013.
"This is another good performance, particularly in GKN Driveline which delivered 11% organic sales growth. We have continued to outperform our key markets and report good underlying financial results in spite of sterling's strength and some end market weakness - we expect these trends to be maintained in the second half. GKN is continuing to make encouraging progress against its strategy," said Chief Executive Nigel Stein.
Looking ahead, the company expects commercial aircraft production to continue to be strong whereas military markets are forecast to decline. GKN Aerospace's 2014 organic sales are expected to show modest growth, reflecting these conflicting trends, it said.
The strength of sterling is also expected to continue to adversely affect reported results, said the company, however, "the group's underlying progress is expected to continue due to the benefits of its diverse exposure to global markets, strong customer positions and healthy order books," said GKN.
By Alice Attwood; [email protected]; @AliceAtAlliance
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