6th Mar 2018 10:07
LONDON (Alliance News) - Headlam Group PLC on Tuesday reported positive annual performance against strong 2016 with rise in revenue and profit.
The flooring distributor posted revenue of GBP707.8 million, up 2.0% from GBP693.6 million the prior year, and driving pretax profit up to GBP40.7 million from GBP38.2 million.
Headlam noted group's positive performance against a strong 2016 with UK and Continental Europe like-for-like revenue growth by 0.5% and 4.2% respectively.
Underlying pretax profit rose 7.5% to GBP43.1 million from GBP40.1 million in 2016 due to a concerted focus on margin enhancement and efficiencies throughout 2017. Underlying operating margin came in at 6.2% for the year compared to 5.9% a year earlier due to the pricing discipline initiatives launched towards the end of 2016.
The group declared a final dividend of 17.25 pence per share, up from 15.85p. For the full year, the dividend stood at 24.80p per share, up from 22.55p per share in 2016.
Headlam Chief Executive Officer Steve Wilson said: "We are pleased with our performance during 2017, having exhibited further growth against what was qualitatively viewed as an overall flat market, robustness in the face of a weaker second half of the year, and improved profitability as a consequence of our focus on efficiency initiatives. The acquisitions of Domus and Dersimo illustrate that we have ample opportunities to grow and broaden our overall leading position in the industry while continuing to invest in the business to support organic growth. I personally wish to thank all our people for their contribution to the 2017 result, and look forward to delivering further improvements in 2018."
The group said UK performance in January 2018 remained below the board's expectations as like-for-like revenue declined 6.7% as a result of a very soft first working week following the New Year holiday. In contrast, Continental Europe like-for-like revenue was up 6.5%, which Headlam said was a "strongly positive" result in the month.
Shares in Headlam were down 7.5% at 489.41 pence per share on Tuesday.
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