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(Alliance News) - Shares in Inspiration Healthcare Group PLC rose on Tuesday after the company declared a maiden payout following a more than doubled profit and sharp revenue growth.
Shares in the medical device company were 8.4% higher at 67.20 pence on Tuesday in London.
For the six months to the end of July, pretax profit more than doubled to GBP1.1 million from GBP483,000 the year before, on revenue that grew by 77% to GBP14.2 million from GBP8.1 million.
Revenue growth was driven by the inclusion of SLE Ltd, a UK-based manufacturer of neonatal ventilators which was acquired in early July, a contribution from medical equipment products maker Viomedex which was bought in September 2019 and ancillary product orders, which more than offset a decline from the group's Own Brand Products division.
Inspiration Healthcare said its profitability now allows for the implementation of a progressive dividend policy, allowing for the declaration of a 0.2 pence per share payout.
Looking ahead, the company said it performed strongly during the interim period, despite the uncertainty and stress caused by Covid-19. The cash generated will allow Inspiration Healthcare to invest further in the second half and in the next financial year.
As a result, Inspiration Healthcare expects to materially exceed market expectations in the year and will maintain momentum into next year.
"I am delighted to be able to report on such a positive first half of this financial year. Despite the operating challenges caused by Covid-19, our underlying growth was strong, demonstrating the robustness of our business model and our agility to be able to adapt to new situations quickly. Acquiring SLE has transformed the group and, in the past few weeks we have confirmed our thinking about the exciting opportunities it brings and its potential to deliver more benefits," said Chief Executive Officer Neil Campbell.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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