CMH earnings per share up 55%

This came in the context of a trading update the company issued on 9 April in which is stated that a "reasonable degree of certainty" existed that "the headline earnings per share and earnings per share for the year ended February will be up by between 45% and 55% and by 35% and 45%‚ respectively.

Citing "improved gross margins and a tight control over selling and administration expenses" in a Sens announcement made on Monday (22 April)‚ the company posted an 8.2% increase in revenue and a 35.3% hike in operating profit. The upshot was a 51.5% increase in headline earnings per share of 183‚9c.

Commenting in the Sens announcement on perceived high levels of cash resources at the company‚ Kerrianne Fonseca, the company secretary, said CMH would adopt a "conservative approach" to protect against potential interest rate rises.

The company said it would pay a dividend of 50c a share.