HomeServe upbeat as share price hits five-year high

HOMESERVE, the home maintenance and emergency call-out group, expects to “deliver good growth” in its current financial year.

Last year saw 8% increases in revenue, to £633.2m, and pre-tax profits, to £82.6m, and the Walsall-based group is looking to continue to build on that.

Shareholders at today’s AGM will be told: “The group is trading in line with our expectations and we expect to deliver good growth in the year ending 31 March 2017.

“Trading, as usual, will be weighted towards the second half of the financial year, reflecting the seasonality of our marketing activity and associated renewals profile.”

HomeServe’s share price has been on a slow but steady rise over the last three years, rising from under 200p in April 2013 to 560p earlier this week – a five-year high. The group now has a market value of £1.7bn

Earlier this month the home maintenance provider completed its largest ever takeover, the £52m acquisition of a US utilities business.

Utility Services Partners (USP), which is based in Pennsylvania, is a complementary business for HomeServe and dramatically increases the latter’s presence in the US market – a sector it has been eager to expand into.