Dignity (LSE:DTY) PLC unveiled a loss for the past quarter as a rise in costs for the funeral provider offset a rise in the number of deaths it handled.
On the plus side, it said its new strategy was delivering “early promising signs” of increasing market share and a pay review that had alleviated some of the difficulties it was having in finding staff in the first half.
Proposals for an “innovative new funeral plan proposition” were launched in August through online channels only and it has now been extended through the branch network.
An underlying loss of £1.7mln in the third quarter meant that underlying operating profits of £14.1mln have been made for the three quarters to 30 September, 68% lower than a year earlier, on underlying revenue down 14% to £204.7mln.
The number of deaths was down 3% to 469,000 for the year to date, having been down 6% in the first half of the year, with a 19% decline in the first quarter and a 13% rise in the second.
Chief executive Kate Davidson said the quarter continued to present some of the challenges faced earlier this year, “but with our new strategy well underway we are beginning to see positive indications of our market share growing”.
With the unpredictability of the death rate in 2022 and the impact of its new strategy and regulatory changes, the company said it is continuing to refrain from giving guidance.