Sanderson Group enjoys strong growth in the first half

Sanderson Group has issued a trading update ahead of the announcement of its interim results for the six months ended March 31 2019, which are scheduled to be released on May 15 2019.

The statement said: “The group’s trading results for the six month period ending 31 March 2019, stated under the new IFRS 15 accounting standard, are ahead of management’s expectations with revenue growing to approximately £17.0 million (compared with £14.6 million in the same period the year before) and operating profit (stated before the amortisation of acquisition-related intangibles, share-based payment charges and ‘one-off’ non-recurring items) increasing by over 30 per cent to £2.8 million.”

Sales order intake has continued to grow and the order book, which continues to be well balanced across the group’s businesses, stands at approximately £8.0 million at the period-end, the statement said.

Commenting on outlook, Sanderson, which is led by Ian Newcombe, its chief executive, said: “The board continues to be cautious in its approach, sensitive to both market conditions as well as to monitoring the general economic environment carefully.

“However, following the strong trading momentum built in the first half of the year, a healthy order book, high recurring revenues and a strong, cash backed balance sheet, the board has confidence that the group is well positioned to make further progress in the rest of the full financial year ending September 30 2019.

“This will enable the board to maintain its progressive dividend policy and continue to build shareholder value.”