(Reuters) -British cleaning products maker McBride said on Friday it expects first-half adjusted operating profit to rise about 8%, driven by higher manufacturing volumes from consumer goods client contracts, and plans to re-instate annual dividends.
Shares in the company were up about 7% at 108.5 pence.
The London-listed owner of brands such as ‘Clean N Fresh’ and ‘Oven Pride’ had suspended its dividends in 2020 due to financial uncertainty triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, in September 2024, McBride announced that under the terms of a revolving credit facility it entered in 2022, it cannot pay dividends until certain exit event conditions are met.
“The recent, new, long-term financing facilities have allowed the normalisation of the Group’s capital allocation options,” the company said in a statement. As a result, it now intends to reintroduce dividends.
McBride expects interim group revenue to be 2.9% higher on a constant currency basis.
“The announcement today that it plans to pay a dividend for FY25 signals its confidence in the sustainability of the recovery and its increasing balance sheet strength,” said Matthew Webb, an analyst at Investec.
(Reporting by Anandita Mehrotra in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
