9th May 2016 06:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - Funeral services provider Dignity PLC on Monday said trading in the first quarter was in line with its expectations as the number of deaths in the UK fell as anticipated.
The FTSE 250-listed company said revenue for the 13 weeks to March 25 was GBP81.2 million, compared to GBP85.5 million a year earlier. Underlying operating profit, which strips out one-offs, slipped to GBP31.1 million from GBP35.8 million.
Dignity said the lower revenue and profit were due to an anticipated fall in the number of deaths in the UK in the quarter, which declined 11% to 156,000 from 175,000 a year earlier.
The group said the number of deaths in the first quarter of 2015 had been "abnormally high compared to long-term trends", which had helped it deliver an "exceptional result" in 2015.
Dignity said its forecasts remains for the number of deaths to decline to a similar level to 2014 in 2016.
"I am pleased with the group's performance in the first quarter, which was consistent with our expectations and supported by surveys that continue to demonstrate the outstanding work being done by our staff. The group's expectations for the full year remain unchanged," said Chief Executive Mike McCollum.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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