22nd May 2018 11:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - Watkin Jones PLC on Tuesday lifted dividend after reporting a growth in interim profit and revenue.
The student accommodation developer reported a pretax profit of GBP23.6 million for the six months to the end of March, up 12% from GBP21.1 million the year before.
This came after revenue grew by 18% year-on-year to GBP158.3 million from GBP133.7 million, driven by student accommodation developments.
Revenue from student accommodation development amounted to GBP142.2 million, Watkin Jones said, compared to GBP115.2 million the prior year, representing an increase of 24%.
The company said it has a strong student accommodation development pipeline, currently comprising of 25 development sites with over 10,300 beds, valued at around GBP900.0 million.
Watkin Jones upped its interim dividend by 12% to 2.47 pence from 2.2p the prior year.
"We are delighted to report strong growth in revenue and profits in the first six months of the financial year," said Chief executive Mark Watkin Jones.
"We have an excellent development pipeline and we are excited about several other opportunities expected to be added to the pipeline in the second half of the year," Watkin Jones added.
Shares in Watkin Jones were trading 0.2% higher at 208.42p each on Tuesday midday.
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