4 April 2014 – final results
A very strong set of results for 2013 has taken the market by surprise following a poor first half. In the first half of the year revenues were nearly 22% behind the prior period due to a prolonged period of poor weather but in the second half revenue was more than 17% ahead year-on-year. Perhaps more importantly the strong second half performance has carried forward into 2014 and this looks like being a very good year for the business. The shares represent excellent value based on fundamentals and an improved final dividend of 2.3p (2012: 2.2p) has been declared, taking the total for the year to 3.45p from 3.3p a year earlier. We continue to rate the shares as a BUY.