11th Nov 2014 08:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Penna Consulting PLC shares jumped in early trade on Tuesday after the company said it doubled its pretax profit in the first half on the back of a robust rise in revenue, prompting a hike to its dividend and instilling confidence it will meet expectations for the year.
Penna shares were up 19% to 151.80 pence in early trade, making in one of the London Main Market's best performers, after it said pretax profit in the six months to September 30 slightly more than doubled to GBP1.7 million from GBP800,000 a year earlier.
The jump in profit was driven by a rise in net revenue in the period to GBP21 million from GBP17 million a year earlier. Recruitment Solutions revenue rose 28% to GBP8.9 million in the period, while Penna's Career Services arm posted a 16% rise in revenue to GBP9.7 million.
The strong performance prompted the company to hike its interim dividend 33% to 2 pence per share from 1.5 pence last year.
"This has been by far the best first half performance from the Company since the beginning of the recession in 2009. The business has considerable momentum and we are confident that there will be a satisfactory outcome for the full year," said Penna Chairman Stephen Rowlinson.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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