2nd Jun 2015 07:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - RWS Holdings PLC on Tuesday posted a flat pretax profit for the first half as revenue ticked lower due to a strong pound, though the company sweetened the results with a 5% hike to its interim dividend.
RWS, which provides intellectual property support services, including patent translations, searchers and international patent filing services, said its pretax profit in the six months to March 31 was GBP9.6 million, flat year-on-year, as revenue fell to GBP45.4 million from GBP46.9 million. The fall in revenue was offset by slightly lower costs in the half and a finance gain, compared to small loss a year earlier.
Despite the flat profit, the company said it will raise its interim dividend by 5% to 1.03 pence per share, up from 0.98 pence a year earlier.
RWS said its constant currency revenue in its patent translation business was solid in the half, with good growth in China and progress made in its Japan arm. But while its said its new client pipeline was strong, it has seen longer-than-normal lead times for conversion to sale in the division.
Commercial translation revenue, also in constant currencies, pushed higher, reflecting good growth in Germany but offset by lower revenue in the UK due to the competitive market.
Trading in the first two months of the second half has been in line with RWS's expectations, the company said, and broadly flat on the first half, as a strong pound continues to hit its results and a subdued performance in its Inovia patent filing business drags.
"The group has produced a solid performance during the half year despite some challenging trading conditions, most notably the impact of significant currency headwinds driven by the strength of sterling," said Executive Chairman Andrew Brode.
RWS shares were down 3.5% to 138.25 pence on Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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