14th Jun 2016 09:25
LONDON (Alliance News) - Trifast PLC on Tuesday said it should be able to offset the hit coming from ongoing volatility in the foreign currency and raw material markets through its geographical spread and balanced sector mix, as it hiked its annual dividend by 33%.
The industrial fastenings supplier said it was offering a dividend of 2.80 pence per share for the year ended March 31, up 33% from 2.10p per share the year earlier. This came after revenue grew 4.3% to GBP161.4 million from GBP154.7 million, driving an 11% increase in pretax profit to GBP13.1 million from GBP11.8 million.
Trifast noted the strongest performance came from its European businesses, where revenue grew to GBP54.4 million from GBP46.7 million, boosted by the contribution of the first full year of trading from fastening manufacture business Viterie Italia Centrale Srl in Italy, which it purchased in May 2014, as well as the first six months trading of its fastener delivery company TR Kuhlmann GmbH in Germany. TR was bought in October 2015.
Overall, revenue grew slightly in Asia to GBP44.4 million from GBP44.1 million and, in Singapore, Trifast said it has seen 9.4% revenue growth to GBP1.1 million, reflecting good demand for domestic appliances. However, in Malaysia, there has been falling customer demand and domestic market weakness, which has led to a 8.3% drop in revenue to GBP900,000, Trifast said.
Meanwhile, revenue has dropped in the UK, Trifast said, to GBP66.2 million from GBP67.4 million, due to a softening in demand.
"For us, Europe, Asia and the US all remain key areas for growth both organically and non-organically. Our enquiry pipeline is strong, whilst our core organic strategy of focusing on our multinational original equipment manufacturers looks set to continue to deliver growth. Financial year 2017 will be the first full year of trading from our latest acquisition, TR Kuhlmann, and we are already starting to see opportunities coming through as the result of us working together," said Chief Executive Mark Belton.
"Looking ahead there are some macroeconomic factors that we cannot control, including the ongoing volatility in the foreign currency and raw material markets. However, building on the strong performance delivered last year and, with our geographical spread, balanced sector mix and clear strategies for growth, the board is optimistic for the current year and the group's longer term prospects," Belton added.
Shares in Trifast were up 1.5% at 137.00 pence on Tuesday.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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