17th May 2016 07:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Ingredients manufacturer Treatt PLC on Tuesday posted higher pretax profit for the first half of its financial year despite a dip in revenue and pushed its dividend higher.
Treatt said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of March was GBP3.2 million, compared to GBP2.8 million a year earlier, despite revenue dipping to GBP40.9 million from GBP41.4 million year-on-year.
The company said the decline in revenue was driven by a shift in its sales mix as Treatt works to eschew lower margin sales in order to improve the quality of its earnings.
Treatt said its hedging programme will result in any currency effects being levelled out over the course of the year, but said it did take a short-term hit in the first half from the decline of sterling against the US dollar.
The company will pay a 1.35 pence interim dividend, up 5.0% from the 1.28p paid out a year earlier.
Treatt said the third quarter has started well and, given the improvement seen in the first quarter of the current financial year, it anticipates its results will be more evenly split between the first and second halves than normal.
At present, Treatt said it remains confident it will meet its expectations for the year to the end of September.
"I am pleased that we are both delivering increased profits to our shareholders and putting in place the levels of investment and planning needed to secure Treatt's long term future as a leading global player in our chosen markets," said Chief Executive Daemmon Reeve.
Shares in Treatt were up 0.3% to 178.05p.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Treatt