RWS Holdings first half profit flat but dividend raised

RWS Holdings reported flat first-half pre-tax profit on Tuesday, as revenue fell on the back of a strong pound.

RWS, which provides intellectual property support services and commercial translations, said pre-tax profit was flat year-on-year at £9.6bn, while reported revenues were down £1.5m on a constant currency basis.

Still, the company said it will raise its interim dividend by 5% to 1.03p per share from 0.98p last year.

“This increase reflects the group's strong financial base, the board's confidence in the group's market position and our commitment to a progressive dividend policy, which was stated at flotation in November 2003 and has been delivered upon every year since then,” said RWS.

It said the trading performance in the first two months of the second half of the year is in line with its expectations, at a similar level to that seen in the first half, held back by the continued strength of sterling and a subdued trading performance at its inovia unit.

At 1420 BST, the shares were down 3.3% at 138.50p.