(Alliance News) - Caretech Holdings PLC shares fell on Thursday after the company posted a reduced interim profit on higher costs and noted that revenue growth was slightly hampered by staffing challenges.
Shares in Caretech were down 6.4% at 659.00 pence each on Thursday in London.
The Hertfordshire, England-based residential care firm posted a pretax profit of GBP19.2 million in the half-year ended March 31, down 55% from GBP42.3 million the year before.
The company blamed this to the write-back of GBP11.8 million sleep-in provision on March 21, and "a gain on bargain purchase" arising from the acquisition of Huntercombe in the prior period.
More positively, revenue grew 2.6% to GBP249.2 million from GBP243.0 million. Caretech credited this to good growth in its Adults, International and Digital divisions.
The company still noted that this growth was offset by reduced revenue in the Children's and Foster Care division, mainly due to sector-wide staffing challenges.
The company declared no interim dividend, as it still remains in an offer period.
In early March, the family office of Farouq and Haroon Sheikh confirmed that it was in the "early stages" of forming a consortium to consider making an offer for the share capital of Caretech.
The Sheikh brothers founded Caretech in 1993, and hold positions as executive chair and chief executive officer, respectively.
The conservatorium currently consists of Sheikh Holdings Group Investments Ltd, Belgravia Investments Ltd, Kensington Capital Ltd, and funds managed by THCS IV GP Sarl. In April, the conservatorium submitted a cash offer for the company.
In the same month, DBAY Advisors Ltd also submitted a proposal to takeover CareTech.
CareTech extended the deadline to make a formal offer for both parties to June 27.
Looking ahead, the company said it remains in a strong financial position and well-placed for the future.
By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com
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