4imprint has declared a dividend increase, interestingly however, the strength of the dollar against the pound has seen a 29% increase in the value per share in sterling terms, and 20% in terms of dollars.
Other financial highlights include:
Group revenue in the first half of 2019 was $405.1m, an increase of $56.7m or 16% over prior year. This represents continued momentum towards their objective of reaching $1bn in Group revenue by 2022.
Investment in the awareness and strength of the 4imprint brand continues to be an important factor in driving the business forward. Whilst still a relatively new initiative for 4imprint, excellent progress has been made in both the development of their analytis and in the integration of the brand element into the overall marketing portfolio. Strong results across both new and existing customer order activity are indicative of the broad reach of their marketing activities in markets that are still notably fragmented.
Profit before tax in the period of $19.4m was 22% higher than 2018, driving a 22% rise in basic earnings per share to 54.81c. Consistent with its guideline to increase regular dividend payments broadly in line with earnings per share performance, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 25.00c per share, an increase of 20% over prior year.
The Group's financial position is strong, with the half year cash balance of $42.7m (2018: $26.5m) reflecting the cash generative nature of our direct marketing business model. The first call on their cash is investment in projects that will deliver future organic revenue growth. In this context the $5m expansion of the Oshkosh distribution facility is proceeding as planned and will be operational in August 2019.
