Hills Profit Soars 323 Per Cent

24 Aug 2010

by: Staff

HILLS Industries has increased annual net profit four-fold and lifted its annual dividend by a quarter, and expects further moderate improvement in the current year. Hills’ managing director, Graham Twartz, said the improved full-year operating result on lower revenue continued the trend of the first half of 2010.

“The Electronic Security & Entertainment Division put in another strong performance and maintained its position of recording the highest EBIT margins of any of our operating divisions,” Twartz said.

Hills said net profit after tax in fiscal 2010 rose by 322.7 per cent to $A40.188 million, helped by a turnaround in the company's home hardware and eco products division.

Hills said net profit before unusual items was 43.3 per cent higher, also at $40.188 million and announced it would pay a final dividend of 5.5 cents a share, fully franked, up from two cents in the fiscal 2009.

Hills chairman Jennifer Hill-Ling said the company forecast a lift in profits in the current financial year.

"We remain focussed on retaining the business improvements implemented in FY09 and FY10 and have a number of growth initiatives in place to deliver a modest improvement in profits for FY11," Ms Hill-Ling said.

Ms Hill-Ling said external factors such as the state of global financial markets, the issue of sovereign debt in Europe, the weak US economy and muted activity in the commercial building sector domestically could have an effect in the forthcoming year.