Utilitywise interim profit up; trading policies revised

Utility cost management consultancy Utilitywise reported a small jump in interim profit on Tuesday as revenue grew and the company lifted its dividend.

In the six months to the end of January 2017, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 4% to £9.4m, on revenue of £46.1m, up from £41.6m in the first half of last year.

Total group customers increased 17% to 40,855 and the company upped its interim dividend per share to 2.3p from 2.2p the year before.

Utilitywise said its Enterprise division performed particularly well, with the number of customers in the UK and Ireland up 13% to 31,978 and in Europe up 32% to 7,360. Revenue in the division grew 20% to £39.1m.

Chief executive officer Brendan Flattery said: "The group has continued its sustained progression in the period, whilst investing and preparing the Group for its next phase of growth. With an extensive portfolio of services in place and a focus on providing a great customer experience, Utilitywise has a strong platform for continued growth.

"There continues to be an increasing opportunity for us on both sides of the meter - from providing independent advice on tariffs and helping customers get a better deal on their energy procurement, to providing technology that helps them monitor and reduce energy consumption as well as ensuring compliance and saving money."

To further strengthen its commercial prospects, Utilitywise has decided to discontinue the practice of taking cash advances from suppliers, and to increase the transparency of the balance sheet through a number of prior period restatements and the non-cash impairment of its investment in t-Mac.

Although this will have a one-off impact on net debt, the company said the decision puts it in a stronger position to achieve its future growth ambitions.

"Against this market backdrop, the group's refreshed strategy is aimed at growing customer numbers, cross and upselling its increasing suite of products to those customers, and increasing recurring revenues as a percentage of group revenues."

Also on Tuesday, Utilitywise said that founder and executive chairman Geoff Thompson is stepping into the role of non-executive chairman with immediate effect.

At 1116 BST, the shares were down 11% to 140.75p.