Diploma PLC raises dividend as momentum picks up

() said all of its business sectors saw momentum improve in the final quarter of the financial year just ended.

That trend has continued into the current year added the components distributor, which underlined its confidence by raising the annual dividend slightly to 30p (29p) having suspended the interim payment due to COVID-19 uncertainty.

Diploma said revenues dropped by 1% to £538.4mln over the whole of the year to September 2020, though without acquisitions the fall would have been 7%.

Profits for the year dropped 20% to £66.7mln, though Diploma said cash flow had been exceptionally strong.

The company also raised £194mln in September to help fund the acquisition of US cable wire distributor Windy City Wire.

For the current year, Diploma added it expects a return to underlying mid-single-digit growth and historic margins, though the growth in revenue and margin progression are expected to be weighted towards the second half of the year.