Synectics: Security firm for British Museum and Westminster Abbey pays out first dividend in five years
Security firm Synectics will pay a dividend for the first time since 2019 thanks to revenue and profit rises in line ambitious market expectations for the first half of this year.
The Aim-listed firm, which specialises in providing security and surveillance systems to the likes of casinos, energy giants, the British Museum, Westminster Abbey and Canada, saw profits sore underlying operating profit nearly treble in the six months ended May 31, up 183 per cent to £2.2m.
Revenue in the half also rose solidly, increasing from £21.9m in the first half of last year, to £26.3m the same period a year later; a rise of 20 per cent.
Underlying earnings per share was therefore up 170 per cent to 10p, having been just 3.7p in the first half of last year.
The firm, which is debt free and has a net cash balance of £6.4m, added that despite the “early delivery of several projects”, as of May 31, it had an order book of £30.2m, up from the previous year’s total of £28.4m.
Paul Webb, Synectics‘ chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to have delivered a strong H1 2024 performance, driven by our Systems division completing delivery of several projects ahead of schedule.
“Our robust order book and promising pipeline of new business opportunities, coupled with our reputation as a trusted partner, ideally position us to capitalise on exciting opportunities across our growing specialist end markets.”
Webb added that he expects his firm to meet analyst expectations, which, before this update, predicted the firm would book an annual revenue of £52.9m and adjusted profit before tax of £3.5m in its annual results.
The firm’s substantially improved profitability and strong cash position prompted its board to reinstate an interim dividend of 2p per share, which will be paid out by August 23. The payout will be the first dividend the firm has issued in five years.