LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Irish engineering group Mincon suspended its interim dividend on Monday despite the group's third-quarter trading performance being "comparable" to that seen in the first six months of the year, with revenues increasing year-on-year.
Mincon said it had built on a trend noted in its interim results, with total revenues increasing by 12% year-on-year as revenue from the construction sector continued to grow, albeit some of it at a lower gross margin.

The AIM-listed group said the environment in the mining sector was "positive" in light of the strong prices in precious metals and iron ore.

However, Mincon warned that its trading in the sector, while in line with the first half of 2020, remained "challenged" by the Covid-19 pandemic due to the difficulties in shipping products, as the recovery from the initial shock of the pandemic evolved at various speeds in different regions.

"Although we have had a strong trading performance during 2020 to date, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on global trade over the coming six months at least, remains uncertain," cautioned the group.

As a result of the aforementioned uncertainty, Mincon said it had decided to adopt "a prudent approach" by suspending its interim dividend for 2020 but highlighted that it currently intends to increase its final dividend in order to keep its full-year payout be in line with the total dividend paid for 2019.

As of 0900 GMT, Mincon shares were down 5.18% at 81.08p.

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