CVS Group Hikes Annual Payout Despite Slight Profit Decrease

LONDON (Alliance News) - CVS Group PLC on Thursday increased its shareholder payout as it reported a large rise in annual revenue and lobbied the UK government to mitigate adverse employment impacts post-Brexit.

The veterinary service provider increased revenue by 20% to GBP327.3 million from GBP271.8 million. The growth in revenue stems from the company acquiring 52 surgeries in the period.

In the twelve months ended June, CVS' pretax profit decreased 2.8% to GBP14.1 million from GBP14.5 million the year before. CVS said the small decrease was due to the GBP1.8 million increase in amortisation costs as a result of prior year acquisitions.

The company's Veterinary Practices division increased its profit by 20% to GBP297.5 million from GBP247.9 million, with like-for-like sales increasing 3.0%.

CVS proposed a 5.0 pence dividend for the year, up 11% from the 4.5p payout last year.

The company believes its outlook is "very promising" as like-for-like sales growth has remained "robust" since the year-end.

CVS said its potential exposure to Brexit "appears to be limited" but the greatest impact could be in the employment of European vets.

Along with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the company is lobbying the UK government to "mitigate against any such potential adverse impacts".

Shares in CVS were down 4.0% Thursday at 982.50 pence each.

CVS Group