Chloride Group plc announced results for the year ended 31 March 2006. The highlights of the report included: strategic actions accelerated growth in revenue and delivered a 55% increase in adjusted profit before tax; double digit organic growth in both product and service sales; and an operating margin that rose 2.4 points to 9.8% (2005: 7.4%) from cost savings and increase in service revenue. The company announced a 22% increase in the full year dividend to 2.25 pence per share.
Commenting, Keith Hodgkinson, Chief Executive, said: "We have made excellent progress in increasing sales and profits, while continuing to invest in improving our competitive position. Our total solutions offering has enabled us to grow sales and build margins in a price competitive environment. The focus on working capital management again resulted in strong operating cash inflow."
Hodgkinson added: "Business continuity relies on secure power and this continues to drive the demand for our power protection solutions. The improving trend in many of our markets is borne out by our year-end order book, which was significantly ahead of last year. We look to build on this sustained momentum by continuing our strategic focus on high-growth markets and sectors where our total solutions offer competitive advantage, and by actively seeking further acquisition opportunities that complement this strategy."
