James Latham Annual Preliminary Earnings Drop, But Revenue Climb
James Latham Plc (LTHM.L), a British distributor of timber, panels, and decorative surfaces, on Thursday reported a decline in preliminary earnings for the full year 2023, amidst a rise in costs and expenses. However, the company registered an increase in revenue.
For the 12-month period to March 31, the company recorded a pre-tax income of 44.511 million pounds, lesser than 57.952 million pounds of previous year.
After tax, earnings were 35.918 million pounds or 179.2 pence per share, compared with last year’s 45.642 million pounds or 228.3 pence per share.
Operating profit moved down to 43.698 million pounds from 58.165 million pounds a year ago.
Selling and distribution costs stood at 24.214 million pounds, higher than 22.151 million pounds a year ago. Administrative expenses rose to 12.097 million pounds from 11.213 million pounds of 2022.
James Latham generated revenue of 408.4 million pounds, up by 6 percent from last year’s 385.4 million pounds. Like-for-like volumes taking into account working days and acquisitions, increased by 5.3 percent, with the growth mainly on delivered business from the firm’s own warehouses.
The Board has declared a final dividend of 20.8 pence per share, higher than last year’s 19 pence per share. The company has also announced a special dividend of 8 pence per share, unchanged from last year’s 8 pence per share. The dividend will be paid on August 25, to shareholders of record on August 4.
Looking ahead, the company said: “โฆWe are mindful that this year will continue to be affected by macroeconomic concerns as the year progresses, with inflation remaining high, and the geopolitical back drop causing uncertainty, but the fundamentals within the majority of the market sectors in which we operate are stable at this stage. We have a concern that the market in Europe is quiet, and this could cause manufacturers to export cheaper product to the UK market, and negatively affect product values.”
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