Murgitroyd earnings on track

Murgitroyd, Scotland’s only listed firm of patent and trade mark attorneys, remains on track to report an underlying profit before tax of just under £4.1 million for the full year.

In a brief trading update yesterday, the Glasgowheadquartered group said it expects to report an underlying profit for the year ended 31 May in line with existing marketexpectationsat£4.08m,up from £3.8m the year before.

The firm noted that its operating cashflow remained strong with record year-end cash balances of just over £3m and a current cash balance in excess of £3.2m. The board intends to recommend a final dividend of 14.5p per share – up from 12p – which would result in a total dividend payment for the year of 21p, compared with 17p a year earlier.

The results for the latest period will include an exceptional provision of £408,000, in relation to an unnamed “longstanding client of the group”.

Murgitroyd added: “The client in question is a longstanding client of the group who has traded with it for over 21 years, remitting over £1.1m in cash over this time period. The client continues to pay, does not dispute the debt, and has formally confirmed to the group its intention to settle the balance in full as and when resources permit.

“However in view of the quantumofcurrentpayments, and the age of the current balance, 80 per cent of which relates to financial years 2016 and earlier, the board considers that it is prudent to make full provision at this time.”

Murgitroyd is due to announce results for the year ended 31 May on 11 September.

In February, results for the six months to November revealed a 13 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £1.67m on revenues of £21.6m, up from £21.45m a year earlier.

The firm assured investors that the geographic spread of its activities and customer base placed it in a “strong position to balance out any weakness in individual markets”.