21st Jan 2021 12:09
(Alliance News) - Somero Enterprises Inc on Thursday reported "strong, profitable" trading in December and a fourth quarter that exceeded previous expectations.
The Fort Myers, Florida-based concrete levelling equipment company said revenue for the six months ended December 31 "significantly" increased from the USD35.3 million reported for the first half and also was above the revenue booked pre-pandemic in the second half of 2019. This was driven by robust trading activity in the US, it said.
As a result, Somero said it expects to report revenue of USD88.0 million for 2020, which is ahead of market expectations of USD80.0 million, though slightly down from USD89.3 million the prior year. It also expects annual adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of USD26.0 million, ahead of market expectations of USD21.0 million but down from USD28.7 million in 2019.
Somero said it expects to declare a supplemental dividend in accordance with its supplementary dividend policy. It paid out an interim dividend of 4.00 US cents per share in September.
The company said European trading improved modestly in the second half of 2020 compared to the first half, but did end lower compared to 2019 on a full-year basis as Covid-19 restrictions held back customer purchasing decisions.
Second-half trading in China also improved modestly from the first half, but trading for all of 2020 declined compared to 2019, as activity remained slow. Finally, trading activity in Latin America, Middle East, and the rest of world all followed a similar pattern, but all fell short of full-year 2019 totals.
"The board is pleased with the strong finish to 2020 and looks forward to 2021 with confidence in the strength of the US market supported by healthy customer project backlogs carrying over to 2021. The board also recognises that while market conditions and activity levels remain generally positive in non-US regions, factors impacting each market, including the lingering uncertainty of Covid-19, temper underlying growth expectations for 2021," said Somero.
Shares in Somero Enterprises were up 6.6% at 373.00 pence in London on Thursday.
By Zoe Wickens; [email protected]
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