LONDON (Alliance News) - Regus PLC on Tuesday posted robust results for the first half of the year, with the group's pretax profit more than doubling, its revenue pushing higher and its return on investment in the period improving, all in line with its expectations.
The FTSE 250-listed office space provider said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was GBP79.1 million, more than double the GBP31.0 million it posted a year earlier, helped by an improvement in Regus' return on investment in the half to 23.1% from 20.9% in the comparable period in 2014.
Revenue for the group was up to GBP937.0 million from GBP804.7 million, driven by the group adding 231 new locations in the half at a net capital investment of GBP120.0 million.
On the back of the results, Regus raised its interim dividend by 12% to 1.4 pence per share, up from 1.25 pence.
"Regus delivered an excellent first half performance, giving us further confidence for the future. Our investments are delivering attractive returns, with returns on past investments improving and remaining well above our cost of capital and newer investments trading in line with our expectations. Our focus on greater operational rigour and efficiency has continued to drive economies of scale and a further reduction in overheads as a percentage of revenue," said Mark Dixon, Regus's chief executive.
"The flexible work market continues to experience robust growth, and we remain ideally placed to benefit from these trends by providing more customers with the right environment to succeed. Current trading is in line with management expectations and the board remains confident in our prospects for 2015 and beyond as we continue to enhance shareholder value," Dixon added.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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