Johnson Service Group 2017 results show strong growth

Johnson Service Group 2017 results show strong growth

Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2017 from the Johnson Service Group (JSG) show strong financial performance and established growth platform, according to chief executive officer, Chris Sander. Revenue over the period increased by 13.3% to £290.9m form £256.7m at end of 2016 while operating profit leapt 16% from £29.8m to £34.8. Pre tax profits scored a 20.5% rise from £25.9m to £31.2m in the 12 months to end of September 2017.

The strong financial performance reflects organic revenue growth of 5.1% and successful delivery of earnings from acquisitions, according to JSG. The board has recommended a 11.8% increase in final dividend to 1.9 pence per share (2016: 1.7 pence) which together with the interim dividend, takes the total dividend for the year up 12.0% to 2.8 pence per share (2016: 2.5 pence). JSG attributes the buoyancy to strategies that include the disposal of its drycleaning division in January 2017 and increased UK geographical coverage through acquisitions.

The acquisition of PLS in Edinburgh last year has extended coverage of high volume linen services to Scotland and Northern England while the acquisition of StarCounty in Wrexham, in December, has increase the geographical coverage of the Stalbridge brand across the Northwest and West Midlands. Continuing capital investment to increase production capacity and efficiency with new efficient equipment has also bolstered performance along with accelerated investment in 2017 to support the demand from strong organic sales generated during the year.