Mitie (MTO) returns interim dividend as profits surge
10:49, 18 November 2021
Facilities management company Mitie has revived its dividend – to 0.4p a share – helped by pre-tax profits surging to £50m ($67m, €59m) for the six months to 30 September.
Part of the uptick, Mitie said, was due to Interserve Facilities Management (IFM) revenues of almost £629m. Mitie revenues that strip out IFM climbed 36%. Operating profits before other items surged to £85m – more than a 350% rise.
Overall, group revenue for the 2021 half year was £1,872.7m – double the £942.8m for the same period a year previously.
Shares unmoved
In earlier trading, Mitie stock moved from 71.08p to to 72.91p. As of 10:15 GMT Mitie shares traded at 71.30p.
“We maintain our [full year] FY 22 and FY 23 FDS earnings per share estimates,” said Liberum analyst Joe Brent. “Average net debt fell from £69m to £60m, helped by working capital and increased factoring.” Liberum is maintaining its buy rating with a share target price of 90p.
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Second half-of-year boost
Mitie CEO Phil Bentley said Mitie’s second half is traditionally a little stronger than the first because the final quarter attracts extra project works across the public sector.
Bentley added: “Excluding our short-term Covid-related contracts – which we expect to significantly reduce in the second half – we are again expecting a stronger second half performance for the underlying business. This will result in an operating profit before other items for FY22 of between £145m and £155m, unchanged from our previous guidance.”
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