Manx Telecom Hikes Payout Despite Fall In Adjusted Earnings, Revenue

15th Mar 2018 13:22

LONDON (Alliance News) - Manx Telecom PLC boosted its dividend on Thursday despite flat revenue and reported profit only being boosted by the softening of exceptional costs.

In 2017, pretax profit expanded 35% to GBP11.9 million from GBP8.8 million the year prior. This was despite revenue falling 2.9% to GBP78.5 million from GBP80.8 million the year before.

Profit performance was helped by the absence of a GBP1.3 million property revaluation loss registered in 2016 and the reversal of an interest rate swap loss of GBP1.2 million to a GBP777,000 gain in 2017.

On an underlying basis - excluding these and other exceptional charges - pretax profit fell 7.4% to GBP15.1 million from GBP16.3 million the year prior.

Manx Telecom proposed a 7.5 pence per share final dividend, up 4.2% from 7.2 pence the year prior. For the full year, the dividend rose 4.6% to 11.4p from 10.9p.

"I am very pleased to report a solid performance for 2017," Manx Telecom Chief Executive Officer Gary Lamb said.

"Our core business has remained stable, with a solid performance in Fixed Line, Broadband & Data Services, Mobile and further growth in our Global Solutions business," Lamb added.

Revenue for its Fixed Line, Broadband & Data fell 0.5%, Mobile fell 1.4%. Together these two units represent over two-thirds of its total revenue. The much smaller - just 6.0% of total revenue - Data Centre unit saw revenue fall 19% in 2017.

In contrast, its Global Solutions unit saw 6.2% growth. This unit contributed 21% of total Manx Telecom revenue in 2017.

"Vannin Ventures, our business incubator, has successfully integrated Partitionware following the acquisition in December 2016, and has acquired a majority stake in Goshawk Communications, a provider of technology for those with hearing loss, bringing exciting growth potential in the medium term," Lamb continued.

"We remain confident in the outlook for the group, which is reflected in the maintenance of our progressive dividend policy," Lamb said. "The strong underlying cashflow performance during the year reflects our focus on working capital and control over capital expenditure, and enables us to create value for our shareholders and invest in our network infrastructure in the Isle of Man."

Shares in Manx Telecom were 3.1% lower at 185.10 pence on Thursday.

---

Related Shares:

MANX.L