Specsavers pays £12m dividend to parent company after jump in earnings
Pre-tax profits rose at high street opticians to £429.7m in the year to February while sales rose 7% to £4.3bn Specsavers has paid £12m to its parent company controlled by its founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins after the high street optician’s profits increased by more than a quarter. The group operates nearly 3,000 optometry, audiology and ophthalmology businesses globally in at least eight…
Specsavers, a prominent high street optician, has announced a £12 million dividend payment to its parent company, Specsavers International Healthcare Limited, which is controlled by founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins. This dividend follows a significant surge in the company's pre-tax profits, which rose to £429.7 million in the year to February, up from the previous year's £359.5 million. During the same period, sales increased by 7% to £4.3 billion.
The high street optician operates nearly 3,000 businesses globally, with over 1,200 in the UK and more than 500 independent partners. Since the previous year, when no dividend was paid due to economic and political uncertainty and the company's significant expansion, Specsavers has resumed paying a dividend of almost £258 million to its shop owners, up from £239 million.
In an official statement, Specsavers highlighted that the resumption of dividend payments reflects the robust performance of the business and confidence in its future growth. The company aims to absorb inflationary price increases where possible and avoid passing increased costs onto customers, while continuously investing in its long-term growth and delivering value for customers.
Specsavers' sales have risen amid a challenging macro-economic landscape, as the company continues to attract customers to its brand. The company's profits have risen due to efforts to keep costs flat and reduce non-value add activities. However, the business faces inflationary pressures from wages, utilities, supplier costs, and increasing regulatory pressures. To address these challenges, Specsavers is investing in improving its website to cater to customers' desire to mix in-store visits with online interactions.
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