Steel group pays dividend for first time since 2010

STRUCTURAL steel group Billington Holdings has paid its first dividend since 2010 after it out-performed market expectations.

The Barnsley-based group increased its pre-tax profits by £1m to £1.9m as sales rose 15% to £45.1m in 2014.

This performance has enabled it to pay a dividend of 3p per share with the board feeling “the time is right to do so”. However it said there would not be automatic increases in the next few years nor is it yet “commercially prudent” to issue an interim dividend.

Mark Smith replaced Steve Fareham as Billington’s chief executive on January 1, who will continue to work with the business as a non-executive director

Mr Smith said: “The company has achieved a strong set of results for the year, with each division contributing positively – Billington Structures has delivered a particularly encouraging performance, with its strongest order book in a long time.

“As market conditions continue to improve, Billington remains well-placed to benefit from the opportunities and growing demand in the sector.

“The group’s strong financial footing, quality product offering and talented and growing team, all mean that we are in a good position to build on this momentum and move into the next phase of our expansion.”

Billington chairman Peter Hems added: “It is always a challenge to predict with certainty the likely result for the year in a contracting business but the prospects for the new financial year look positive, with a strong order book.”