Franchise Brands Q3 underlying earnings hit record level

Franchise Brands said its strong performance had been driven by the "outstanding growth" of its Metro Rod franchises, which have seen system sales for the quarter increase 32% year-on-year.

The AIM-listed firm did note its Willow Pumps subsidiary had been "slower to recover" from the reduced Covid-related volumes of 2020, particularly in the supply and installation part of the business.

Franchise stated it was "confident" of meeting current full-year consensus market expectations and reconfirmed its strategic financial target of run-rate turnover of £100.0m and adjusted underlying earnings of £15.0m by the end of 2023.

Chairman Stephen Hemsley said: "I am pleased with our Q3 performance which demonstrates the strength of our organic strategy and look forward to Q4 and the full-year result with confidence.

"The progress we are making with our digital platform is already beginning to transform our existing businesses and will provide a scaleable technology platform to support the accelerated development of businesses we will acquire in the future. We will therefore continue to invest significant resources in this area."

As of 1135 BST, Franchise Brands shares were up 1.44% at 140.50p.