An unprecedented 7 per cent fall in the number of UK deaths in the first six months of the year was bad news for funeral services provider Dignity (DTY). But that made it all the more impressive that the company bucked the trend and still managed flat sales growth.
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Tight cost control and higher pricing also kept underlying operating profit flat, while the dip in reported pre-tax profit was down to higher finance costs following a further debt issue in 2013. Chief executive Mike McCollum explained that the abnormally low death rate in the period should be seen in the context of last year's unusually high rate. Accordingly, he expects the rate of decline to normalise in the second half, leaving full-year profit forecasts unchanged.