The Nichols plc Board is pleased to recommend an increased final dividend of 17.1p per share (2023: 15.6p) as a result of its continued strong cash generation, providing a proposed total ordinary dividend for the year of 32.0p per share (2023: 28.2p). If approved, the final dividend will be payable to shareholders on the Register of Members at 21 March 2025. The ex-dividend date will be 20 March 2025.
Other financial highlights include:
Group Revenue slightly higher than last year at £172.8m (2023: £170.7m), reflecting the shift in International to a lower revenue but margin enhanced concentrate model across several African markets
o Overall Packaged revenue increased by +4.4%, with UK Packaged sales increasing by +6.3%, largely driven by innovation and distribution gains, while International Packaged revenue increased by +0.8%, as expected, due to the shift to a concentrate model
o Out of Home ("OoH") revenue decreased by -8.2% in line with the Group's expectations following the strategic exit from unprofitable accounts delivering significant improvement in profitability
Gross Margin improvement to 45.7% (2023: 42.3%)
o UK Packaged gross margin increased despite inflationary pressures due to revenue growth strategies
o Increased weighting of higher margin concentrate sales in International within their Africa and Middle East business units
Continued focus on cost management resulted in Adjusted Operating Profit increasing by 14.6% to £28.9m, with an enhanced Adjusted Operating Margin of 16.7% (2023: 14.8%) and Adjusted Profit before Tax rising by 15.6% to £31.4m
Exceptional items of £7.4m (2023: £2.9m) reflecting the investment made in the Business Change Programme and Systems Development
Free Cash Flow of £17.8m (2023: £20.9m) in cash and cash equivalents of £53.7m (2023: £67.0m)
