11th Nov 2014 09:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Trifast PLC shares jumped in early trade on Tuesday after the company posted a rise in profit on the back of stronger revenue in the first half, prompting it to hike its dividend and to say it expects to exceed expectations for the year.
The industrial fasteners maker saw its shares rise 8.4% to 107.83 pence, making it one of the best performers in the FTSE All Share.
It said pretax profit in the six months to the end of September increased 14% to GBP4.9 million from GBP4.3 million a year earlier.
Revenue in the period was up 13% to GBP74 million from GBP65.3 million last year, largely on the back of the acquisition of Viterie Intalia Centrale SrL, the Italian self-tapping and thread-forming screws company it bought in May. VIC contributed GBP7.5 million in revenue in the period. Excluding this contribution, revenue grew 1.9% organically.
The group said it gross margin increased 130 basis points to 29% during the period, with overheads as a percentage of revenue falling 80 basis points to 19.4%.
The strong results pushed Trifast to hike its interim dividend, up 50% to 0.6 pence per share from 0.4 pence last year.
The company said its order book position at present and levels of organic growth mean it is optimistic it will exceed full-year trading expectations and said it is continuing to consider further acquisitions.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Trifast