15th Mar 2016 08:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - Social housing and care services provider Mears Group PLC on Tuesday said its pretax profit fell in 2015 due to a loss-making acquisition it made, but revenue grew and the group said it has been named preferred bidder on a homecare services deal with Devon County Council.
Mears said its pretax profit fell to GBP36.8 million in the year to the end of December from GBP42.0 million a year earlier, hit by losses from the acquisition of the Care at Home businesses it acquired from Care UK, which it had anticipated at the time of the acquisition.
Revenue, however, rose to GBP881.1 million in total, up 5.0% from the GBP838.7 million posted a year earlier, as care revenue grew 18% to GBP146.0 million from GBP124.0 million and social housing revenue increased 3.0% to GBP735.1 million from GBP714.7 million.
Sales were driven higher by the Care at Home acquisition and by Omega, the social housing services company Mears bought in October 2014.
Mears said its bid pipeline has returned to strength following a weak start to 2015 and said it was benefited from troubles faced by competitors in its social housing maintenance business.
The group said its order book at the end of the year sat at GBP3.5 billion, up from GBP3.3 billion at the end of 2014, and said 2016 has started well, with trading in line with its expectations.
Mears will pay a final dividend of 7.90 pence per share, taking its total dividend up to 11.00p from 10.00p in 2014, a 10% rise.
"Since the turn of the year, trading remains in line with our expectations for the full year. The group is well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities and we look forward to updating the market with further successes," said Chief Executive David Miles.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, Mears said it has been named preferred bidder by Devon County Council on a five-year homecare services contract, with an option for the deal to be extended another two years. The deal is worth in excess of GBP100.0 million, Mears said.
Mears will be the lead provider partner in four areas in the south of Devon and will be responsible for organising and delivering personal care services in the region.
Shares in Mears were down 2.7% to 399.0501p on Tuesday morning.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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