5th Nov 2014 09:06
LONDON (Alliance News) - Wincanton PLC shares dropped in early trade on Wednesday despite the company posting a jump in pretax profit on the back of a slight increase in revenue in the first half and said it is on track to meet its full-year expectations.
Shares in the supply chain services company were among the worst performers in the FTSE All Share in morning trade, down 6.9% to 137.75 pence, despite reporting a rise in pretax profit in the half year to the end of September of 31%, up to GBP12.7 million from GBP9.7 million last year.
Underlying earnings per share for the company rose 26% to 10.6 pence per share, it said, driven by lower financing charges in the period.
Revenue for the company rose 1.6% to GBP550.9 million from GBP542.2 million the year earlier. Its Contract Logistics business reported GBP464.1 million in revenue in the period, up 0.5% on the GBP461.8 million posted last year, while its Specialist business saw revenue increase to GBP86.8 million, up 8% against the GBP80.4 million in 2013.
"These results represent another solid half of operational and financial performance," said Eric Born, chief executive of Wincanton, who added the company is on track to meet its full-year expectations.
The group did, however, warn that it has seen volume reductions in some key sub divisions of the group, including retail and tankers & bulk, and is continuing to experience margin pressure amid a competitive market.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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