Vianet Group, the leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services for the leisure, vending, and forecourt services sectors, has said that trading for the second half of the year has been satisfactory as anticipated.
As a result, it said that its full year profits will be broadly in line with market expectations and ahead of last year’s outturn of £3.048m.
The company said that its UK core beer flow monitoring operations maintained its contribution despite continuing uncertainty around the Government’s proposed Statutory Code for pub companies as well as ongoing pub closures.
It said that good progress continues to be made in Vending Telemetry with further growth in profits during the second half.
The company said: “The Board believes that the prospects for this business remain excellent, particularly with telemetry solutions for the coffee vending market, where significant headway has been made in delivering new orders through 2014/15.”
It said that its Fuel Solutions Division had also made further good progress during the period as it benefitted from a reduced cost base, increased activity and improved margins.
The company said: “This has resulted in a small profit for the year and a solid pipeline into the current financial year.”
Against this solid background, the Board expects to be in a position to recommend to shareholders that the final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2015 be maintained at 4.0 pence.
James Dickson, chairman, said: “Against a backdrop of ongoing pub closures and increased investment in the USA, the Group has delivered year-on-year growth. Importantly, there has been solid overall progress across the business and prospects are encouraging, particularly for telemetry solutions for the coffee vending market. Given the Group’s prospects and continued investment, the Board is confident that growth will continue through the remainder of the current financial year.”
