LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Professional lighting specialist FW Thorpe reported first-half revenue of £82.6m on Thursday, making for a modest increase of 1% from the prior period.
The AIM-traded firm said its operating profit before adjustments related to acquisitions dipped 2% to £12.3m for the six months ended 31 December.

However, its operating profit saw a 2% increase to £11.2m.

Profits before tax rose 1%, amounting to £10.7m, while basic earnings per share improved 2% to reach 7.31p.

FW Thorpe increased its interim dividend to 1.7p per share, up 4.9% from 1.62p in the interim period of 2023.

The company attributed its steady performance to margin improvements within its Thorlux and Lightronics divisions, and to Zemper's enhanced export revenues in France and Belgium.

Additionally, other UK-based companies within the group were showing marginal overall improvements.

A significant highlight of the period was the net cash generated from operating activities, which surged to £14m, up from £9.9m in the prior interim period.

"Results for the half year are in line with the expectations given in the group's November trading update, overall performance being broadly level with last year's," said chairman Mike Allcock.

"It seems that customers finished for Christmas very early - December was particularly slow across all parts of the group, thus suppressing results at the half year point when compared with the prior year.

"I am pleased to say that trading bounced back with a vengeance in January, giving the group a good start for its run-in to the full year."

At 1155 GMT, FW Thorpe shares were down 3.71% at 362p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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