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Vertu Motors PLC on Wednesday lifted its interim dividend on higher revenue, despite profit falling due to higher operating expenses.
Vertu Motors shares rose 5.0% to 45.40 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
For the six months that ended on August 31, revenue grew 3.9% to £1.99 billion from £1.02 billion the year before.
Pretax profit, however, fell 47% to £26.9 million from £51.1 million. Operating expenses widened 15% to £192.4 million from £167.7 million.
The Gateshead, England-based car dealership said non-underlying items cost widened to £1.3 million from £731,000 a year ago. It explained that the items ‘represent share-based payment charge and amortisation of intangible assets’.
Chief Executive Robert Forrester said: ‘The first half has seen a strong trading performance with vehicle margin strength offsetting market driven volume shortfalls. The group continues to benefit from its focus on operational excellence around cost, conversion and customer experience aided by continued digitalisation initiatives.’
Vertu Motors declared an interim dividend of 0.70 pence per share, up 7.7% from 0.65p a year ago.
Looking ahead, it expects the full-year profit to be ahead of market expectations.
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