Morgan Advanced Materials reports drop in full-year revenue

13th Feb 2014 10:00

- Full-year revenue falls- Pre-tax profits drop- Dividend raised five per centMorgan Advanced Materials saw full-year revenue fall 4.9 per cent to 957.8m pounds as demand remained subdued for the UK manufacturer of carbon and ceramic products.Pre-tax profit in the year through December 31st 2013 came to £64m, down 16.6% on the previous year.Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dipped 1.6% to £119m.Chief Executive Officer, Mark Robertshaw, said against the backdrop of subdued demand in end markets the company is focused on "driving portfolio reshaping initiatives and operational improvements"."At the same time we have continued our ongoing investment in world-leading technology to enhance our sustainable competitive advantage."The firm raised its dividend by 5% to 10.5p per share. Operating cash flow was at £127m, compared to £126.8m the prior year, and net debt was reduced to £186.5m from £192.8m. It resulted in a year-end net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.3 times, matching 2012. In the first half of 2014 the group expects that end-market conditions will remain similar to those of the past several months with lacklustre global industrial growth. The order book going into 2014 is stable with a book to bill ratio of just over one times. Shares rose 1.44% to 316.90p at 10:16 on Thursday. RD