15 October 2014 – interim results
A strong set of results has been released, covering the six months to 31 August 2014. Revenues increased by 29.5% to £1,083.9m (2013: £837.2m) and adjusted profit before tax was up 51.1% to £13.3m (2013 : £8.8m), translating into adjusted earnings per share up 18.7% to 3.11p (2013: 2.62p). This performance allowed the interim dividend to be lifted from 0.3p per share to 0.35p per share. Net cash was £34.4m at the period end versus £25.7m a year earlier. The shares do not look expensive. We maintain our BUY rating.