James Halstead hikes dividend as profits climb to record level

James Halstead hiked its annual dividend on Tuesday as the company reported record turnover and profits despite the net exporter being hampered by sluggish European markets and the ongoing Brexit drama.

The international flooring manufacturing group achieved a profit before tax of £48.3m for the year ended 30 June, 3% higher than the year before, as revenue climbed 1% higher to £253.0m.

With the company proposing a final dividend of 10.0p per share, the total dividend has been increased by 4% to 14.0p.

UK turnover grew by 7% even as James Halstead noted that concerns about Brexit had led to deferred spending in several sectors and caused certain retail chains to curtail their normal refurbishment cycles.

Trading in the rest of Europe was on a par with last year, with France, Holland and Spain demonstrating the best growth, while Turkey and Italy performed the worst as the company had the advantage of a weak sterling but saw projects slow as economies became sluggish.

The rest of the world was more positive as James Halstead experienced growth in South America, North America, Africa and Scandinavia, though the AIM traded company said that trading in mainland China slowed.

Anthony Wild, chairman of James Halstead, said he could only be confident of continued progress in the coming year as trading since 31 March has continued to be solid, particularly in the UK.

James Halstead shares were up 2.12% at 514.68p at 1106 BST.