Knights Group Holdings PLC on Monday reported a rise in annual profit and revenue, reflecting a series of acquisitions made during a strong financial year.

Pretax profit for the year ended April 30 increased by 19% to £21.6 million from £1.1 million the year before, which the company said reflected increased profit in the underlying business and a reduction in non-underlying costs by 50% to £6.6 million from £13.3 million the year before.

Revenue increased 13% to £142.1 million from £125.6 million the year before. The company said that £8.8 million of this increase came from acquisitions made during the financial year and £8.3 million represented the impact of acquisitions made through the previous financial year.

Net assets as at April 30 increased 8.2% to £92.8 million from £85.7 million at the same time the year before.

‘We have maintained a strong balance sheet and have significant headroom within our existing banking facilities to fund further growth both organically and through acquisitions,’ said Chief Financial Officer Kate Lewis.

Knights Group Holdings declared a final dividend of 2.50 pence per share, and a total dividend of 4.03p per share, up 15% from 3.5p the prior year.

The company said it was confident of a return to organic growth in financial 2024, and said that it had enjoyed a solid start to the year despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and rising interest rates.

Chief Executive Officer David Beech: ‘Our outlook for the current financial year is therefore unchanged, with recent recruitment expected to drive a second half weighting, and we remain confident in our strategy and our ability to deliver profitable, cash generative growth.’

Shares in Knights Group Holdings were up 6.4% at 67.87 pence in London on Monday morning.

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