Yu Group triples profit after investing in growth

Corporate gas and electricity supplier Yu Group reported on Wednesday that its half-year profits more than tripled after growth across all key sales channels.

For the six months ended 30 June the company’s total profit increased 206% to £1.6m after total revenue jumped 73% to £35.8m, keeping the company on track to report full-year results in line with expectations.

Off the back of these strong results the firm raised its interim dividend by 20% to 1.2p per share.

A successful placing in March raised £11.6m for the group, helping boost cash and equivalents to £18.2m as of 30 June, up from £5.9m at the same point last year.

Chief executive Bobby Kalar said: "In line with the overall strategy we will continue to invest the proceeds of the secondary placing to strengthen and expand our product range and invest in infrastructure, staff, systems and brand marketing."

He said the effect of the investment could be seen in the rate of bookings doubling to an average of £7.82m in the first half compared to £3.75m a year ago.

Investment in staff and infrastructure over the period resulted in the AIM traded firm’s new Leicester sales office, expansion of the senior management team to include new chief financial officer Paul Rawson and the hiring of 39 new employees.

"The group has also continued to focus on relationships across all stakeholders. As an example, the group has introduced new initiatives to measure and react to metrics around customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Maintaining the culture and vision for the business remains an ongoing priority, and I am pleased that our steadfast approach is proving successful," said Kalar.

Yu Group’s shares, having risen 20% since the start of the year, were down 1.04% at 955.00p at 0839 BST.