7th Jun 2016 06:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - Specialist equipment rental company Vp PLC on Tuesday delivered higher pretax profit thanks to margin improvements and an increase in revenue, prompting a hike to its dividend.
Vp said its pretax profit for the financial year to the end of March grew to GBP30.0 million from GBP26.8 million the year earlier. Revenue grew to GBP208.7 million, up 2.0% from the GBP205.6 million previously, and the benefit to the bottom line was driven further by an improvement in the company's operating margin to 15.3% from 14.0%.
Vp said it will pay a final dividend of 13.5 pence per share, taking its total annual payout up 14% to 18.85p from 16.5p the year before.
The company said it experienced a solid year in infrastructure, housebuilding and construction markets, partly offset by challenging conditions in the oil and gas sector.
Vp expects the UK infrastructure market to remain robust over the current financial year, in particular with a pick-up in spending in the water market as the industry enters the second year of its new regulatory period.
"Following last year's record breaking results, the group has continued to make further good progress this year reporting another strong financial performance with improvements in profits, margins and returns, delivered from a relatively modest growth in revenues. This trend is expected to continue as the varying demands of supportive infrastructure, housebuilding and construction markets play against a challenged oil and gas sector," said Chairman Jeremy Pilkington.
"We enter the new financial year in good shape, with most end markets offering supportive trading environments and with the prospect of contributions from our acquisitions. Our business model of diverse and specialist services continues to serve us well and with the new financial year starting positively, we look forward to another year of progress for Vp and our shareholders," Pilkington added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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