26th Feb 2015 09:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - Spirent Communications PLC Thursday raised its dividend for 2014, as higher operating costs offset a rise in revenue, leading to a decline in pretax profit.
The communications technology firm proposed a final dividend of 2.21 cents per share, taking its total dividend to 3.89 cents, up from 3.54 cents in 2013.
It posted a pretax profit of USD24.1 million, down from USD39.1 million a year before, as a rise in revenue to USD457.2 million from USD413.5 million was offset by higher operating costs, and administrative expenses.
Acquisitions added USD18.6 million to revenue for the year. The company said that its trading had improved in the fourth quarter after a slow third quarter, as customers released capital budgets and some of its new products gained traction.
Gross margin dropped slightly to 69.2% from 69.4%, due to product mix and increased investment in its support services.
The company said it expects to see increased demand for its services as the year unfolds, and this will be compounded by the later timing of a shipment of a contract for hand-held test tools, leading to a greater than usual second half weighing.
"The board remain confident that further progress will be achieved during 2015 and that the group will benefit from continued investment to create long term strategic value. We have a number of major new solutions that will be delivered to the market in the second half of 2015 and we will continue to pursue areas of opportunity to expand the markets we serve," Spirent said in a statement.
Shares in Spirent are trading down 0.6% at 87.50 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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