12th Mar 2015 08:02
LONDON (Alliance News) - Building products distributor SIG PLC on Thursday reported higher pretax profit on the back of the non-recurrence of one-off writedowns booked last year and hiked its dividend on the back of the results, even as its revenue for the year fell.
FTSE 250-listed SIG said its pretax profit for 2014 was GBP39 million, compared to a GBP2.1 million profit in 2013 when the company booked more than GBP80 million in writedowns and impairment charges on businesses it sold.
Revenue fell to GBP2.63 billion from GBP2.72 billion for the group, though revenue from its continuing operations, excluding the German roofing, Miller Pattison and Ice Energy businesses it divested, increased to GBP2.60 billion from GBP2.54 billion. Revenue growth was dragged back by the strength of sterling, with constant currency revenue growing 5.6%.
On the back of the increased profit, SIG said it will pay a final dividend of 2.98 pence per share, up 24% year-on-year. Its total dividend payout for the year is 4.4 pence, up 24% on the 3.55 pence paid out in 2013.
"In 2014 SIG delivered good like-for-like sales growth of nearly 4% and improved its return on capital employed by 90bps, driven by a strong performance in the UK & Ireland. Following a robust first half, which benefited from the mild weather, trading moderated as Mainland European markets deteriorated," said SIG Chief Executive Stuart Mitchell.
"We anticipate that trading conditions will remain variable across the group's countries of operation in 2015, with continued good growth in the UK & Ireland and uncertainty persisting in Mainland Europe. While the group also notes the continuing weakening of the Euro and potential adverse translational effect on profit, it expects this headwind to be partially offset by lower fuel costs," said Mitchell.
"Although weighted towards the second half, due to strong first half comparators, our continued scope for self-help through market outperformance and the strategic initiatives give SIG confidence in achieving further progress this year," Mitchell added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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