Dewhurst's profits climb despite Brexit caution

Dewhurst reported a jump in profits on Tuesday after an encouraging first half performance in "almost all areas", though the company warned that Brexit uncertainty has clouded the outlook.

The industrial lift and keypad components specialist's profit before tax came in at £3.1m for the half year ended 31 March, up 8% when compared to the same period last year, while sales increased by 31% to £32.3m.

The AIM traded company said that UK lift sales remained resilient despite Brexit uncertainty, overseas lift sales performed well and keypad sales remained stable from the second half of last year, which was an improvement on last year's first half.

The strong sales led Dewhurst to hike its interim dividend from 3.50p per share to 3.75p.

However, transport sales were dampened by continued pressure on the UK local authority's spending.

"Demand in most of our markets, excluding the transportation sector as noted above, is currently steady or improving. In the UK we are still faced with uncertainty regarding Brexit. We cannot tell how this might affect demand later in the second half, but we are retaining our higher inventory levels for the time being until the way forward is clearer," said a company statement.

Meanwhile, the Australian economic climate is expected to remain positive after the previous government's reelection, while business in North America remains busy and the trade tensions have, so far not had an impact in Dewhurst's market sector.

Dewhurst's shares were up 4.55% at 1,150.00p at 1319 BST.