4 April 2017 – final results and trading update
Final results for the year to 31 December 2016 have been released. The company has described its performance as showing ‘resilience in a difficult market’ and this seems a fair assessment. Earnings per share from continuing operations edged up from 9.85p to 10.17p and this allowed the final dividend to be increased from 3.50p per share to 3.67p, taking the total for the year to 5.51p (2015: 5.25p). A trading update for the first quarter of 2017 detailed a surge in revenue, aided by the acquisition of HTL in January. The shares remain a BUY.