LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Funeral services provider Dignity said on Tuesday that underlying pre-tax profits had slipped in the six months ended 25 June despite posting broadly flat underlying revenues year-on-year.
Dignity stated underlying revenues were little changed when compared to 2020 at £169.4m for the first half but also revealed that underlying operating profits were down 10% at £37.8m and underlying pre-tax profits were 14% lower at £23.2m.

On a non-underlying basis, Dignity improved from an interim pre-tax loss of £12.1m in 2020 to a pre-tax profit of £50.5m in 2021 and saw revenues drop 4% £189.0m.

Underlying earnings per share were down 15% at 36.2p, while basic earnings per share of 62.4p were a marked improvement on the prior year's basic loss per share of 22.6p.

Chairman John Castagno said: "Our business continues to deal with the effects of Covid-19 and in my short period with the company I have been extremely impressed with the dedication of our colleagues in delivering a superior service to our customers in very difficult circumstances.

"The group has also embarked on an ambitious plan to further improve its operating model to better serve our customers and to comply with the changes to our industry introduced by the CMA and preparing for the upcoming FCA regulation and supervision."

As of 0835 BST, Dignity shares were down 3.07% at 720.20p.

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