Speedy Hire PLC on Wednesday held its annual dividend after a tricky financial year which saw sales fall and profitability deteriorate.
The Merseyside, England-based tool and equipment hire company swung to a pretax loss of £1.5 million in the financial year to March 31 from a profit of £5.1 million the year prior.
Adjusted pretax profit slumped 41% to £8.7 million from £14.7 million, impacted by higher interest costs and a lower contribution from its Kazakhstan joint venture, as contracts completed, the company said.
Revenue fell 1.4% to £416.6 million from £421.5 million impacted by ‘challenging’ markets and slower than anticipated expansion of Trade and Retail.
Basic loss per share was 0.24p compared with EPS of 0.59p a year ago.
Speedy Hire said results reflected ‘a backdrop of continuingly challenging markets affected by macro-economic factors and government policy decisions.’
The interim dividend was held at 2.6p per share.
Going forward, Speedy Hire said it intends to operate within a target leverage range of between 1.0 times and 2.0x over the business cycle.
The firm will target to grow the dividend in line with future earnings growth.
Looking ahead, Speedy Hire Chair David Shearer said: ‘We have ambitious targets for future growth under our Velocity Strategy and expect to generate returns from the investment made over the last two years as markets recover. We have a business model that remains resilient through the cycle and look forward with confidence to the year ahead.’
Chief Executive Dan Evans said the firm is ‘confident of achieving its full year expectations.’
Shares in Speedy Hire were 1.6% lower at 25.69p each in London on Wednesday morning.
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