GKN full-year profit up 12% as sales rise

FTSE 100 engineer GKN posted a 12% jump in full-year pre-tax profit as sales rose and the company expressed confidence over its prospects for 2017.

In the year to 31 December, pre-tax profit grew to £678m from £603m, as sales increased 22% to £9.4bn.

Earnings per share came in at 31p versus 27.8p in 2015 and the company declared a dividend of 8.85p per share, up 2% on the previous year.

GKN reported a strong performance from Fokker Technologies in its first full year of ownership and said the momentum of new business wins continues to support growth ahead of markets.

Chief executive Nigel Stein said: "This is a good set of results with GKN continuing to make underlying progress in line with our expectations. We performed well against our key markets, overcoming some demand weakness and demonstrating once again the strength of our businesses, strong market positions and leading technology. Strategically we made good progress, including smoothly integrating Fokker and completing the disposal of Stromag - evidence of our sharper focus on capital allocation towards Aerospace and Automotive markets.

"We expect 2017 to be another year of further growth, helped by the benefits of the actions taken in 2016 and GKN's constant focus on continuous improvement."