Walker Greenbank FY profit rises, divi bumped up

Luxury interior furnishings group Walker Greenbank posted a jump in full-year profit and upped its dividend on Wednesday.

In the year to the end of January 2017, sales were up 5.2% to £92.5m, with adjusted underlying pre-tax profit up 17% at £10.4m.

The company said the acquisition of Clarke & Clarke in October 2016 delivered a profit contribution of £1m in the first 18 weeks of ownership with performance continuing to be in line with the board's expectations.

Walker, which has now fully recovered following a flood at its fabric printing factory in December 2015, said UK licensing income rose 25.6% in reportable currency and 13.1% at constant currency to £2.6m, with new distribution agreements for bedding in the US and China.

Chairman Terry Stannard said: "Brand sales in the first quarter of the current financial year are on an improving trend though they continue to reflect the flood-constrained product launches in the Spring of last year and partially constrained Autumn launches. Consequential loss of profits continue to be mitigated by our insurance policy though, as we look ahead, the flood's impact on trading will be reduced."

In the first 12 weeks of the current financial year, Brands sales were up 4.4% in reportable currency and 0.9% at constant currency. These sales exclude Clarke & Clarke, which is trading in line with the board's expectations.

Walker said sales in the year ahead are expected to benefit from the new collections launched this Spring, from the continued momentum of its licensing activities and from the significant contribution from Clarke & Clarke.

"With this backdrop, we remain confident in meeting the board's expectations for the current financial year."

The company recommended a final dividend of 3.06p per share, up from 2.45p in 2016 and bringing the total dividend for the year to 3.61p compared with 2.89p the year before.

At 1310 BST, the shares were down 0.5% to 211.42p.