Victoria ups divi but warns on outlook

A big dividend increase wasn't enough to reassure investors who sold out of carpet maker Victoria after it warned of an uncertain outlook.

Stripping out the cost of restructuring its Irish operation, the firm posted full year pre-tax profits of £2.21m, up almost 15% on the year before.

Revenues increased 9.4% to £77.13m and the company announced a total dividend for the year of 10.50p, an increase of 16.7% over the prior year.

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Revenue in Australia grew by 1.5% in local currency after a significant slowdown in the final quarter of the financial year, while revenue in the UK was ahead by 9.4%.

The UK numbers benefitted from a strong growth in sales to the John Lewis Partnership.

But the firm warned the economic outlook in all of the markets in which it operated remained uncertain, affecting consumer confidence.

"We anticipate that we are unlikely to see any significant recovery in market conditions in the current financial year," said Chairman Katherine Innes Ker.

The firm's shares were down almost 6% by midday on Tuesday.