In the six months to 31 October 2021, a dividend of £29,295,000 was paid (2020 - £nil) representing the final dividend for the year ended 30 April 2021. The Redde Northgate PLC Directors have declared a dividend of 6.0p per share for the six months ended 31 October 2021 (2020 - 3.4p).
The final dividend of 12.0p in relation to the year ended 31 April 2021 was paid in September 2021. Trade and other payables at 31 October 2020 included £16,702,000 in relation to the final dividend of 6.8p for the year ended 30 April 2020 that was approved in October 2020 and paid in November 2020.
Other financial highlights include:
Revenue (excluding vehicle sales) grew 21.9% to £522.9m (H1 2021: £429.0m)
Total Group revenue, including vehicle sales, grew 10.2% to £612.9m (H1 2021: £556.0m)
Underlying EBIT grew 79.2%, underlying PBT grew 94.4% and underlying EPS grew 94.7%
ROCE increased to 12.5% (H1 2021: 8.1%) due to higher profitability in the Group, strong disposals and a leaner cost base following strategic actions as part of the Focus initiative
Significant rental margin progression in both Northgate UK&I, 7.3 ppt increase and Northgate Spain, 2.7 ppt increase, driven by underlying strength in the rental business and a leaner cost base
Steady state cash generation improved 15.5% to £93.5m (H1 2021: £81.0m) and free cashflow reduced £66.1m to an outflow of £7.6m (H1 2021: £58.6m) due to investment in the fleet to meet demand
Group net debt, excluding IFRS 16 leases, stable at £470.4m, 1.5x net debt to EBITDA (H1 2021: 1.6x) well within target leverage range of 1.0x to 2.0x
