11th Aug 2015 06:31
LONDON (Alliance News) - SIG PLC on Tuesday said its pretax profit was higher in the first half of 2015 than a year earlier thanks to lower exceptional costs which offset a decline in revenue, and the group hiked its interim dividend on the better profit.
The building products company said its pretax profit for the half to the end of June was GBP26.8 million, sharply higher than the GBP11.8 million it posted a year earlier, as exceptional costs in the half fell to GBP12.3 million from GBP31.2 million a year earlier.
Revenue in the half fell slightly to GBP1.24 billion from GBP1.31 billion, primarily thanks to the weakness of the euro in the period. In constant currencies, revenue was up by 3.1% and like-for-like sales grew by 0.6%. Sales in mainland Europe turned positive in the second quarter, the group said, while UK and Ireland sales were up by 2.8%.
On the back of the rise in profit, the group said it will increase its interim dividend to 1.69 pence per share, up from 1.42p a year earlier, a 19% rise.
"The group delivered a robust first half performance against a strong comparative period, supported by continued good progress on its strategic initiatives. This was despite variable trading conditions in mainland Europe, increasing competitive pressures and a significant weakening of the euro," said Chief Executive Stuart Mitchell.
"Our outlook for the year is broadly unchanged although underlying market conditions are resulting in margin pressure, which will offset some of the benefit from our strategic initiatives. Assuming the improving sales trend in mainland Europe continues we expect to make year-on-year progress, with results second half-weighted as anticipated," Mitchell added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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