Wincanton PLC (LON:WIN) shares ticked up on Thursday after the logistics firm reported increased profits despite a fall in revenues in its latest full year.
For the year ended 31 March, the company reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £49.3mln, up 6.3% on the prior year, despite revenues slipping 2.6% to £1.14bn which was blamed on new contract wins being secured too late for inclusion in the results.
These new contracts included new business from French energy giant EDF as well as Weetabix, the Co-Op and HMRC.
The company also hiked its final dividend by 9% to 7.29p per share.
Looking ahead, Wincanton said it expected “continued progress” in the coming year, with chief executive Adrian Colman saying the dividend hike demonstrated a “healthy balance sheet, strong cash generation and our confidence in delivering returns”.
In a note to clients, analysts at Liberum said the results showed “encouraging profit growth” despite the revenue decline, adding that they expected the company’s momentum to continue, with the full benefits still to come.
The broker added that Colman, who announced his retirement earlier this month, was “leaving the group in good shape” before his departure, which is planned for later this year.
In mid-morning, Wincanton shares were up 2% at 261.1p.