LONDON (Alliance News) - Joinery and wood distributor James Latham PLC Thursday reported higher profits and revenue for the first half of the year, boosted by higher sales volumes.
The board declared an interim dividend of 3.4 pence per share, up from 3.1 pence, but said it will remain cautious about its bad debt over the next few months, despite currently being below expectations.
The group also said that it has seen growing revenue since the start of the second half of the year, with a slight improvement in margins, and is in a strong position to meet increasing demand.
James Latham reported a pretax profit of GBP4.2 million for the six months ended September 30, up slightly from GBP4.1 million a year earlier. Its net profit for the period was GBP3.3 million, compared with GBP3.2 million the prior year.
It reported a higher operating profit for the half year to GBP4.6 million, up 8.7% from GBP4.2 million a year earlier, despite higher finance costs and a GBP267,000 profit gain last year from the disposal of its Ossett site property.
James Latham said that revenue rose almost 10% to GBP82.2 million, from GBP74.8 million a year earlier, driven by higher sales volumes, particularly for panel products, while sales of timber have improved since the spring.
However, the group said that trading margins for the half year are slightly down on the prior year, due to competitive pressure.
James Latham shares were up 1.9% Thursday morning, trading at 400.00 pence per share.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; rowenaharrisdoughty@alliancenews.com; @rharrisdoughty
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Latham Timber (LTHM)