14th Aug 2018 08:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Polypipe Group PLC said Tuesday it is on track to meet its expectations for the full year after a "resilient" first half performance.
Polypipe shares were trading 4.2% higher at 369.80 pence making the plastic piping manufacturer the second best performer in the FTSE 250 index.
For the six months to June 30, the company posted revenue flat year-on-year at GBP210.2 million, compared to GBP210.0 million. Meanwhile, pretax profit was marginally down to GBP30.1 million from GBP30.5 million the year before.
The company said it increased its UK revenue by 0.9% despite taking an GBP8 million blow due to bad weather in February and March. Excluding the weather impact, UK revenue grew 5% year-on-year, it said.
By division, UK Residential Systems achieved organic revenue growth of 5.9% to GBP119.0 million, while Commercial & Infrastructure Systems revenue was down 6.6% to GBP91.2 million due to delays in road and commercial projects affecting the unit in the short-term, the company said.
During the six-month period, Polypipe sold its low-margin French business for EUR16.5 million in cash to France-based plastics manufacturer Ryb SA.
The company said it increased its interim dividend by 2.8% to 3.7 pence per share from 3.6p paid to shareholders in respect of the first half a year ago.
Polypipe said it started trading in the second half of the year well and it is confident that it will deliver results, for the full financial year, in line with management expectations.
"Against a backdrop of mixed market conditions and adverse weather the group has performed well in the first half. With the group's balanced business model, underpinned by the long-term growth drivers of legacy material substitution and continuing legislative tailwinds in water management and climate change, I am confident the group will make good progress in the second half of the year," Chief Executive Officer Martin Payne said.
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