Dignity confident for 2011

Funeral home operator Dignity revealed an 8% rise in annual pre-tax profit after a strong performance across all areas of the business.The Midlands based group said 2011 has started well and it remains confident in its future prospects.Underlying operating profit for the year ended 31 December 2010 rose to £61m compared to £56.4m in 2009. Revenue increased 8% to £199.1m.Chief executive Mike McCollum said, "We have added locations in both the funeral and crematorium business and sold more pre-arranged funeral plans than ever before. The net result is a 15% increase in EPS."Underlying pre-tax profit rose 11% to £40.4m.A final dividend of 8.88p has been declared, up 10% for the same period last year.