Cello hikes dividend after fruitful second half

Marketing firm Cello Group said after a challenging first half, it recovered strongly in the second half, as it looks forward to further progress in the current year.Gross profit rose 7.2% to £65.1m for the year to December 31st 2012 with like-for-like gross profit up 2.6% despite the challenging first half.Headline operating profit fell to £7.7m from £7.8m while headline pre-tax profits slipped to £7.0m from £7.1m. Chief executive Mark Scott said: "2012 has seen the group continue to grow its pharmaceutical expertise in the UK and overseas markets. The recent acquisition of Mash Health, combined with centralised new business activity and further organic investment, will continue this progress into 2013." "We are confident that both these factors will combine to deliver a successful 2013 performance and as an indicator of that confidence we have raised the dividend by 16.3%, the sixth successive year of dividend growth."Cello said momentum is continuing in the early stages of the current year.The group has proposed a full year dividend of 2.0p per share compared to 1.72p last time.CJ