William Stobart sold 750,000 shares in transport group Stobart Group just in time to take advantage of the old capital gains tax regime.
The sale at 145p a share raised £1.09m for Stobart, who is chief operating officer of Stobert Group. This disposal will attract capital gains tax at the rate of 18% and not the new higher tax rate of 28%.
Stobart Group reported a profit before tax of £34.1m in the year to 28 February 2010, up from £22.1m in 2008-09 despite difficult trading conditions and the bad winter. That profit was boosted by a £8.26m gain from the disposal of assets in Widnes. There were restructuring charges of £2.7m in each of the past two years.
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Stobart Group paid dividends totalling 6p a share last year.
Stobart Group believes that it can hold down its costs and improve margins this year. Analysts forecast profits of between £32m and £36m this year.
The Stobart Group share price has risen by two-fifths over the past year.
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