(Adds details on results, dividend and shares)
Nov 14 (Reuters) - British airport operator Stobart Group
suspended its dividend to conserve cash and reported a
bigger first-half loss on Thursday, hurt by impairment charges,
sending its shares down 9%.
Stobart's dividend has largely been funded from asset sales
rather than operational cash generation, a practice which the
company called unsustainable. The suspension will save the
company 22 million pounds per year.
The infrastructure and support services company intends to
restore the dividend when it has much more cash at an operating
level, but said it will continue to sell assets.
The company, which owns airline Flybe along with Richard
Branson's Virgin Atlantic, said its loss widened to 20.9 million
pounds ($26.7 million) in the six months ended Aug. 31, compared
with a loss of 17.5 million pounds a year earlier.
The loss includes an 8.5 million pound non-cash impairment
of intangible assets in Stobart Rail & Civils, a 3.7 million
pound non-cash brand amortisation and 7.4 million pounds of new
business and new contract set-up costs.
However, underlying core earnings rose 187% to 12.1 million
pounds, bolstered by growth in its core aviation and energy
divisions.
($1 = 0.7815 pounds)
(Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru
Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Bernard Orr)
