3rd Mar 2020 10:14
(Alliance News) - FSTE 250-listed IWG PLC on Tuesday hiked its 2019 payout and increased its share buyback programme to GBP100 million amid a surge in pretax profit.
The office space provider said its pretax profit more than tripled in 2019 to GBP430.1 million from GBP138.7 million reported a year ago, as revenue grew by 10% to GBP2.65 billion from GBP2.40 billion. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased by 9.2%.
IWG, which provides office spaces under Regus brand, explained that its pretax profit includes the profit from the signing of master franchise agreements during the year, which were reported under discontinued operations.
Pretax profit from continuing operations declined to GBP55.9 million from GBP109.6 million due to the changes in the accounting standard. Excluding the change to IFRS16, pretax profit was up 9% year-on-year.
IWG increased its final dividend by 10% to 4.80 pence, resulting in a 10% growth in annual payout to 6.95p. The company also upped its current share repurchase programme to GBP100 million. To-date, IWG said it has bought back 12.4 million shares, worth GBP49.5 million.
"2019 has been a transformational year for IWG. We made significant progress in our pivot towards becoming a franchised organisation and delivered strong revenue growth and record profit," said Chief Executive Mark Dixon.
He added: "We continue to see strong demand globally and to welcome more great partners to the business."
IWG shares were trading 4.6% higher in London on Tuesday morning at 359.70p each.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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