Penna chairman sells to meet demand

Outplacement Penna Consulting said chairman Stephen Rowlinson has sold nearly £600,000 worth of shares from his sizeable holding to meet institutional demand.

Rowlinson sold 420,000 shares at 142.5p per share. He still holds approximately 32.4% of the company, around 8.1m shares.

Outplacement specialist has benefited from the current economic downturn and the increase in unemployment. Last month, it saw half-year profits quadruple, prompting it to pay interim dividends that were higher than expected.

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The group returned paying interim dividends thanks to its above expectation performance. It paid 2p per share, versus nil last year, which was more than the 1p per share it had earmarked for the period.

Dividends were increased after the group saw half-year profits jump to £2.1m from £0.5m last year as margins improved substantially. A rise of 29% in turnover to £28.9m also helped.

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