8 December 2011 – 3rd quarter results
The group has announced its results for the third quarter ended 30 October with a modest fall in revenue to £242m (2010: £246m) resulting in a modest fall in adjusted pre-tax profit to £21.1m (2010: £22.7m). Earnings per share on the same basis declined to 4.2p (2010: 4.4p). Despite this, the figures for the first nine months of the financial year all show modest increases and the third quarter in 2010 was a particularly strong period of trading. Although trading conditions remain challenging, the group is on course to meet pre-tax profit forecasts for the year and will benefit from any upturn in the global economy. With the support of a dividend yield of 5.8% the shares remain a BUY.