Sepura hails return to strong growth

Shares of Sepura, maker of digital mobile radios, rose after it revealed an increase in annual pre-tax profit and said it expects stronger growth in the current financial year.

The Cambridge based firm said pre-tax profit rose to €4.58m in the year ended March 30 from €2.76m the year earlier. The group which provides TETRA, or terrestrial trunked radio, posted revenue of €83m compared to €82.3m before.

"The economic climate during the last year has remained challenging, but the actions we have taken to diversify our customer base, strengthen our margins and reduce our cost base have enabled us to more than double our underlying operating profits," it said in a company statement.

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Revenue from commercial customers increased 50% and now represents 22% of revenues, up from 14% last year. Gross margin for the year was 47.6%, with second half margin of 49.1%. Adjusted operating profit surged 117% to €7.8m.

Sepura said company restructuring was completed and operational efficiencies had been delivered.

Chairman John Hughes said: "The actions we have taken to diversify our customer base, strengthen our margins and reduce our cost base have enabled us to more than double our underlying operating profits."

"In addition, the launch of our ATEX radio and the recent acquisition of 3T represent important steps as we expand our addressable market still further and position the group for long-term success."

A final dividend of 0.98p has been offered, up from 0.91p before. The full year dividend has increased to 1.46p from 1.36p.

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