Telecom Plus Share News (TEP)

Utility services provider Telecom Plus said it remains confident of reporting full year profits in line with market expectations following a strong fourth quarter for distributor, customer and service numbers.The FTSE 250 firm, which provides utility services to residential and business customers, said positive trends had continued into the final quarter and it expects to report a seventh consecutive quarter in which its service numbers have grown by more than 50,000.Underlining its confidence in future trading and in the absence of unforeseen circumstances, Telecom Plus also intends to recommend a final dividend of 18p per share, which would bring the total dividend for the year to 31p per share, up from 27p before. The group said a strong uptick in the number of new distributors joining the business during the quarter provides a useful indicator of the levels of customer and service growth it expects to achieve over the coming months.Chief Executive Officer Andrew Lindsay said: "The sustained increase in the number of new distributors joining the business over the last three months is particularly encouraging, and we anticipate that this will feed through to additional customer and service growth over the coming months." "We continue to focus on delivering consistent good value, convenience and exceptional levels of service to our members, and are confident that this is the right strategy to maximise shareholder value over the long term."CJ