Mears profits on the rise despite drop in revenue
Support services provider Mears saw pre-tax profits improve throughout the first half of its trading year despite reporting a decline in revenue.
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The Bristol-based firm turned in an adjusted pre-tax profit of £19m for the six months leading to 30 June, a 3.83% increase year-on-year, while revenues fell 7.54% to £435.3m.
Earnings per share improved 6% to 10.44p.
Operating margins increased to 4.7% from the 4.1% seen a year earlier, driven by the improving profitability of Mears' care division.
Mears also revealed a strong current bid pipeline of over £2.8bn for 2018, significantly higher than normal levels and including two opportunities that are "very large in scale".
The firm said it remains "cautiously optimistic" of a successful outcome.
Mears felt it had delivered a "solid performance" across the half and is confident of making further progress throughout the year, in line with its expectations, and for the long-term.
"Our financial and market position is robust as we seek to build on existing strengths and take advantage of new opportunities," said chief executive David Miles.
"Mears is evolving its services, especially in the areas of housing management and development, to align fully with customer demand and to provide additional growth opportunities that will add to shareholder value over time," he added.
As of 0900 BST, Mears shares had dipped 1.90% to 348.25p.