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LONDON (Alliance News) - Timber products company James Latham PLC reported growth in annual revenue and profit Thursday, hiking its dividend amid strong volumes in its panel and timber distribution business.
The company said its pretax profit for its financial year to the end of March was GBP12.9 million, up from GBP10.1 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP185.9 million from GBP174.9 million.
James Latham declared a final dividend of 10.3 pence per share against 8.8p a year earlier, taking its total payout to 14.3p, up 14% from 12.5p.
James Latham said revenue for its Lathams Ltd panel and timber distribution arm grew over the course of the year thanks to better volumes in its ex-warehouse and direct business. Growth slowed in the second half, but volumes were higher for both panels and timber in the year.
Gross margins also grew in the business due to a shift in its revenue mix towards higher-margin specialist products, though margins on its commodity products stayed tight.
Like-for-like revenue in April and May was 4.0% higher year-on-year, the company said, while gross margins have also continued to expand. However, the group said there are signs of slowing in its key markets and said the uncertainty caused by the EU referendum, for which voters are going to the polls on Thursday, make it difficult to make any short-term predictions on the outlook.
James Latham shares were down 0.4% to 650.00p Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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