Vianet's reports first-half growth as pub closures abate

(ShareCast News) - First-half trading at Vianet Group, the leisure and vending sector service provider, has topped the performance from last year and the board perceived signs that the rate of pub closures was slowing down.The company's core Brulines beer flow monitoring operations have continued to strengthen its UK market position, while the vending telemetry service has contributed towards growth in the first half as well as extended its reach in European.Chairman James Dickson said: "We have continued to make good commercial progress by delivering highly relevant solutions that drive strong returns for our customers."Given the group's encouraging prospects and mindful of our desire to continue to provide a superior yield for our shareholders, the board intends to declare a maintained interim dividend of 1.7p per share."The share price rose to 2.33% at 96.70p at 1051 BST on Thursday.