Diploma PLC (LON: DPLM) have seen their shares rally after they lifted the final payout for financial 2019.
Shares of Diploma rallied 3.41% on Monday to trade at 1,759p. 18/11/19 10:49BST.
Diploma reported strong double digit growth in revenue and earnings, which sparked shareholder optimism.
The company, which supplies seals, filters, specialised wiring and fastners, also said its remains confident of making further progress in the current financial 2020 as moderately lower underlying growth will be offset by a strong contribution from acquisitions.
The FTSE250 (INDEXFTSE: MCX) listed firm reported a strong 15% rise in pretax profit for the year ending 30 September.
Profit rose from £72.7 million to £83.5 million, which gave the chance for Diploma to lift their final 2019 payout.
Diploma added that revenue increased 12% year-on-year to £544.7 million from £485.1 million, comprising 5% underlying revenue growth, a 5% contribution from acquisitions and a 2% currency benefit.
Of note, the firms Life Sciences and Control unit delivered revenue growth of 7% and 9% respectively, two sectors which Diploma pledged to grow.
“Diploma has delivered another strong set of results with double-digit revenue and earnings growth in the year. We were also delighted to welcome four new businesses into the group, all of which are strategically important and have exciting prospects. The political and economic outlook remains uncertain, but I am confident our resilient business model will support a consistently strong performance again in the year ahead,” Diploma Chief Executive Johnny Thomson said.
Thompson concluded “Our plans are about continuity, building on the strong foundations of our value-add distribution model, focusing on the development of the organisation’s capability to deliver that model at scale and focusing on the significant growth opportunities in our core markets and products.”
Diploma recommended a 15% increase in its final dividend to 20.5 pence per share, with the total annual payout up 14% to 29.0p from 25.5p last year, which will certainly please shareholders.
In a time where competitors such as Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: IART) and Liminal BioSciences Inc (TSE: LMNL) have seen positive trading periods, the results will be even sweeter for the FTSE250 listed firm.
