20 June 2017 – interim results
Solid results have been released for the six months to 30 April, along with news that the company is on track to meet expectations for the full year. In the first half revenue from continuing operations was £218.5m versus £198.1m a year earlier. Profit before tax from continuing operations was £4.91m (2017: £4.25m) and earnings per share on the same basis were 20.14p (2017: 17.77p). The interim dividend was lifted from 4.2p per share to 4.41p. Net assets at the period end were £88.05m (2017: £85.03m). We continue to rate the shares as a BUY.