25th Nov 2015 08:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Equipment rental company Vp PLC on Wednesday said its pretax profit and revenue both rose in the first half and said it would hike its dividend payout on confidence its robust performance will continue in the balance of its financial year.
Vp said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of September was GBP16.3 million, up from GBP15.5 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP105.1 million from GBP101.3 million.
The company said its interim dividend will rise to 5.35 pence per share, up from 5.0p.
Revenue in the majority of Vp's business rose in the half, with the only hit coming for its Airpac Bukom business, which is heavily exposed to the oil and gas industry, and from its TPA unit, as an anticipated increase in demand from the transmission sector did not materialise.
Notwithstanding this unit, revenue rose for its UK Forks business thanks to the continued buoyancy in the UK housebuilding market, while its Groundforce and Torrent Trackside arms both performed well.
The group said it looks set to deliver a "very satisfactory" outcome for the full year and said its results were still robust, even where end markets were weaker.
"This has been another year of solid progress for the group, achieved against a more subdued economic background. Revenues, profits, earnings per share, return on capital and dividend all moved ahead. Once again the group has demonstrated its strength through diversity in the quality of these results," said Jeremy Pilkington, Vp's chairman.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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