Shares in discount utility provider Telecom Plus surged 12.5 per cent as the group reported a 10 per cent rise in sales to £161m for the six months to 30 September.
IC TIP:
Hold
at
741p
Customer numbers rose by 8 per cent to 361,000, with more customers also taking more services. The average number of services per customer climbed to 3.53 from 3.37, with the average spend per customer also ticking up to £1,152 from £1,057. Moreover, improved terms with suppliers and a change in the product mix has lifted margins, too, resulting in pre-tax profits soaring 31 per cent to £11.1m. The interim dividend was raised by 25 per cent to 10p and the group has committed to paying out a full-year dividend of 27p.
