4th Apr 2019 10:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - Hunters Property PLC on Thursday reported a decrease in annual profit but saw a rise in income from its franchisee brands and hiked its annual dividend.
Shares in Hunters Property were up 7.5% in morning trade at 41.92 pence each.
In 2018, the real estate agent network's pretax profit slipped by 3.1% to GBP969,000 from GBP1.0 million in 2017.
The company's revenue decreased 1.4% in 2018 to GBP14.0 million from GBP14.2 million the year before.
Hunters proposed a final dividend of 1.60 pence, resulting in a total dividend of 2.40p - a 9.1% increase on the 2.20p distributed in 2017. The company said it intends to pay a progressive dividend going forward.
The franchised sales & lettings agency company said its Residential sales revenue decreased in 2018, leading to the fall in total revenue, "against the backdrop of a market down 7% during the year".
Hunters' Lettings revenue increased 13%, however, as the company's net franchisees "continued to grow". Total Network income grew 1.3% in 2018 to GBP39.4 million.
"We are delighted to report another strong set of results in what has been a challenging market. In 2018, we increased network income, income per branch, customer service rating and adjusted both profit before tax and earnings per share under our strategy to attract and improve businesses," said Chair Kevin Hollinrake.
The average network income per branch increased 9.9% in 2018 to GBP200,000 from GBP182,000 in 2017.
Hunters added 10 new franchisee branches in 2018 and, as of February 28, the company has 201 branches.
Hollinrake added: "For 2019 we expect activity levels to remain subdued and the impact of the tenant fee ban disruptive in the short term. We see the developments in the sector as providing further opportunities and it remains our intention to invest in our technology to keep us in the best place to benefit for the longer term. We have opened seven branches already this year and I am pleased that we are seeing an increasing number of high quality independent businesses. I look forward to updating you further during the year."
Hunters said its performance in 2019 to date is in line with management expectations.
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