Redde Northgate hikes dividend as FY profits rise

Commercial vehicle rental provider Redde Northgate upped its full-year dividend on Wednesday following a marked rise in full-year profits.

Redde Northgate posted a 58% year-on-year increase in annual pre-tax profits to £93.2m, while underlying earnings increased 46.8% to £109.8m. Underlying earnings per share were broadly flat at 31.0p.

Adjusted revenues surged 50.2% to £879.7m.

Net debt was cut 7.9% to £530.3m, while free cash flow shot up 870% to £97.8m, and return on capital expended increased 2.5 points to 9.5%.

As a result of the group's solid performance in the 12 months ended 30 April, Redde Northgate declared a final dividend of 12.0p per share, up from 6.8p a year earlier, taking its total dividend for the year to 15.4p per share.

Chief executive Martin Ward said: "This year has been a challenging year but also one of exceptional progress against our Focus, Drive and Broaden strategic framework, and I am proud of our people and the way they responded to the pandemic.

"Recent trading has been strong and we enter FY2022 from a position of strength."

As of 0855 BST, Redde shares were up 1.67% at 407.68p.