Headlam profits spark divi hike

Floor coverings group Headlam grew profits by over 13% in 2010 and has enjoyed a positive start to 2011.Profit before tax rose to £25m last year from £22.1m in 2009 on revenue up 0.4% to £535.7m, a good effort, Headlam said, given that indications were market size would keep falling.The UK business, which accounts for almost 81% of group revenue, lifted like for like sales by 0.4%, but sales fell 0.7% in Continental Europe, as flagged in January's trading update.Excluding January and February, hit by harsh weather conditions, revenue to November was up 1.2% in the UK."Each of our business teams are focused on meeting their individual targets, which provides the group with confidence to achieve its overall objectives for the year," chief executive Tony Brewer said."We have made a positive start to 2011 and whilst January and February are relatively lower trading months, it does give a good indication to future trading assuming normal seasonality."A final dividend of 8.57p a share takes the full-year payout to 12.4p, up 13%. Headlam