James Halstead board proposes another record dividend

Commercial, contract and consumer flooring company James Halstead reported an 11.6% improvement in its full-year revenue on Monday, to £266.4m, as its profit before tax rose 16.9% to £51.3m.

The AIM-traded firm said earnings per share came in at 19.2p for the 12 months ended 30 June, growing 16.4% year-on-year.

Cash at year-end totalled £83.3m, up from £67.4m at the end of the 2020 financial year.

The board proposed a final dividend of 11p per ordinary share, making for an increase of 10% over the prior year’s distribution and reaching another record.

“This was a complicated year. It was a year in which our top management had to balance risks to the business whilst maintaining key supplies to our core healthcare markets without compromising employee safety,” said chief executive officer Mark Halstead.

“I applaud the efforts of our management team who have faced difficulties from every direction.

“In addition I am pleased to report that our flooring received recognition in the year from the Contract Flooring Association (CFA) in conjunction with the Contract Flooring Journal (CFJ) - winning the ‘contract of the year’ accolade in respect of the Polyflor Quicksafe that was installed at the NHS Louisa Jordan at the SEC in Glasgow, one of many ‘Nightingale’ projects with which we were connected.”

At 0909 BST, shares in James Halstead were up 5.5% at 548.61p.