4th Apr 2019 09:14
LONDON (Alliance News) - Smart Metering Systems PLC said on Thursday raised its dividend for 2018 by 15% even as its profit fell sharply on exceptional costs.
For the year, the gas and electricity meter installer recorded pretax profit of GBP5.4 million, down from GBP18.0 million the year before. The drop was mainly attributed to exceptional costs of GBP17.1 million resulting from the reduced value of meter assets as the company reduced the expected useful life its traditional meter portfolio to five years from 20 years.
On an adjusted basis, pretax profit rose by 13% to GBP25.1 million from GBP22.2 million.
Revenue for 2018 grew by 24% to GBP98.5 million from GBP79.6 million, with annualised recurring revenue rising by 32% to GBP75.3 million from GBP57.0 million in 2017.
As at December 31, Smart Metering's total portfolio consisting of gas and electricity metering and data assets increased by 54% to 3.1 million from 2.0 million the prior year.
Smart Metering declared a final dividend of 3.98 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 5.98p, up 15% from 5.20p the year before.
Looking ahead, the company said it will continue to transition from first generation SMEST1 meters to the second generation SMETS2, with the expectation of smart meter installation run rates increasing in the second half of 2019.
"2018 has been a year of continued investment and growth, and I am especially pleased with the way in which we have brought our end to end solutions to the UK's energy suppliers shown by the significant contract wins announced in the last 6 months. Building long term partnerships with our customers is key to our success. We enter 2019 with a strong order book and are well positioned to continue making progress in our core markets," said Chief Executive Officer Alan Foy.
Shares in Smart Metering Systems were up 2.7% at 585.50p each on Thursday morning.
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