Epwin hikes dividend after record year for revenue

The AIM-traded firm said its underlying operating profit also increased, by 16% over 2022 to £21.5m, ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

Its strong cash generation saw a pre-tax operating cash inflow of £38.6m, compared to £34.9 million in 2021.

Epwin also maintained a robust financial position, with covenant net debt at year-end of £17.9m, better than expected after net acquisition cash consideration of £17.8m in the year.

The board increased the dividend per share by 8.5%, with a proposed final dividend of 2.55p, resulting in a total dividend for 2022 of 4.45p per share, compared to 4.1p in 2021.

Current trading was in line with the board's expectations, with 2023 revenue to date ahead of a strong first half in 2022.

Epwin's Poly-Pure and Mayfield integration was also on track, with the core businesses operating well, as window systems resolved its operational challenges and continued to address margin pressures.

The board said it saw positive medium- and long-term repair, maintenance and improvement market drivers, with a poorly-maintained and ageing housing stock, underinvested social housing, and a shortage of housing supply.

Environmental concerns were also driving government policy focus on decarbonising the UK housing stock and improving the energy efficiency of homes.

The company said it also had a healthy pipeline of further merger and acquisition opportunities.

At 1104 BST, shares in Epwin Group were down 0.41% at 72.7p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.