Strong outlook stokes shares of Telecom Plus
TELECOM Plus, the utility services company, led the FTSE 250 risers yesterday after saying it remains comfortable with market expectations for a 50 per cent jump in its profits this year.
The company also reported a 25 per cent rise in adjusted profit to £44.6m for the year to 31 March with revenues lifting 9.5 per cent to £658.8m.
“We now supply almost two million services to over 530,000 households throughout the UK,” said chief executive Andrew Lindsay. “We remain comfortable with market expectations for adjusted pre-tax profits for the current year of £63m, and to delivering a progressive increase in dividends as we continue to grow.”
Telecom Plus offers a host of utilities including gas, electricity, landline, broadband and mobile services to businesses and consumers, most of its sign ups are made by a network of 44,000 distributors who earn a commission from sign ups.
“With over 5,000 new partners (distributors) joining since our annual sales conference in March, and just two per cent of the UK market, we believe we are exceptionally placed to deliver further sustained organic growth over the months and years ahead,” added Lindsay.
Telecom Plus also said it raised its full-year dividend by 12.9 per cent to 35p per share. Telecom’s shares closed up 10.9 per cent at 1,519p yesterday following the results.