01/08/2018
Interim results for the 26 week period ended 29 June 2018
Dignity plc (Dignity or the Group), the UK's only listed provider of funeral related services, announces its unaudited interim results for the 26 week period ended 29 June 2018.
| 26 week period ended 29 June 2018 |
26 week period ended 30 June 2017 |
Increase/ (decrease) per cent |
|
| Revenue (£million) | 174.7 | 169.8 | 3 |
| Underlying operating profit* (£million) | 56.4 | 59.5 | (5) |
| Underlying profit before tax* (£million) | 43.4 | 46.1 | (6) |
| Underlying earnings per share* (pence) |
69.4 | 74.1 | (6) |
| Cash generated from operations before non-underlying items* (£million) | 65.6 | 61.9 | 6 |
| Operating profit (£million) | 51.5 | 58.7 | (12) |
| Profit before tax (£million) | 38.5 | 45.3 | (15) |
| Basic earnings per share (pence) | 61.4 | 72.5 | (15) |
| Number of deaths | 324,000 | 308,000 | 5 |
| Interim dividend (pence) | 8.64 | 8.64 | - |
* The reasons for the Group’s use of alternative performance measures, definitions and where relevant reconciliations, are provided in the section on Non-GAAP measures on page 30 of the Interim Report.
Key points
- Strong financial performance ahead of market's expectations;
- Number of deaths significantly higher than the prior period;
- Increased funeral market share;
- Three year transformation plan for funeral operations now determined;
- Solid performance from crematoria;
- Acquisition activity continues;
- Pre-need business experiencing tougher market conditions; and
- Strong cash generation continues to fund the Group’s plans.
Mike McCollum, Chief Executive of Dignity plc commented:
"We are pleased with the strong and better than originally expected financial performance in the first half of this year. Strong cash generation will support planned investments and costs which form part of our plan for the funeral business. Our focus remains on building a new lower cost model in our funeral business which will provide more competitive prices and a superior, future ready proposition. We have made good progress, but it is still early days. We have completed our operating review which has yielded a three part transformation plan while our trials continue to yield valuable information. We are confident that the changes will position Dignity for long-term, sustainable and profitable growth while maintaining the highest possible standards of client service."
For more information
| Mike McCollum, Chief Executive Steve Whittern, Finance Director Dignity plc |
+44 (0) 207 466 5000 |
|
Richard Oldworth |
+44 (0) 207 466 5000 Dignity@buchanan.uk.com |
Notes
A presentation for analysts and institutional investors will be held today at 9.00am (BST) at Buchanan Communications, 107 Cheapside, London EC2V 6DN. All participants must be pre-registered in order to attend the meeting.
A live audio webcast and conference call facility will be available. A webcast replay facility will be available after the analyst meeting via the same link.
| Webcast | http://webcasting.buchanan.uk.com/broadcast/5b321921f8666a0e93e96cde |
| Conference call |
UK Toll: 02034281542 |
| (listen only) |
URL for international dial in numbers: |