Funeral provider hesitantingly reveals better-than-expected performance

A higher-than-usual death rate during 2018 has improved funeral provider Dignity’s performance, but it has warned that it expects its financials to remain volatile this year.

It had introduced a reduced simple funeral price which it had forecast would account for one in five of the group’s funerals.

So far it is nearer to one in six but Dignity has reiterated its cautionary note that it still expects “trading in 2018 to be volatile as the relationship between funeral price, service and volume would take time to settle down”.

Despite that, and based on its first quarter results, the company believes its full-year results will be ahead of current market expectations.

Its first-quarter revenue was £95m, compared to £93m a year ago, while earnings before interest and tax was approximately £37.5m. This was in line with the prior year, but significantly ahead of the board’s expectations.

In a statement, Dignity said: “The group continues to conduct a significant number of price and service trials across its entire portfolio.

“The data from these trials is still at a very early stage and it is not yet possible to draw any meaningful conclusions.”