Shares in industrial services, media, property and investment group Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) opened down 1.0% today at $18.21, after hitting a 52-week high of $18.49 yesterday.
Seven Group Holdings shares sat at $9.62 at this time last year, with the price trend steadily rising across the 12-months, with strong half-year results announced yesterday failing to excite investors for long.
Seven Group Holdings announced an underlying EBIT of $223.5 million, up 42% on the previous comparative period and ahead of guidance, up 23% on a pro-forma basis when adjusting for changes in Coates Hire and Beach Energy ownership interests.
Underlying NPAT was up 81% on the prior comparative period, with statutory net profit of $169 million materially in line with the underlying result.
Seven Group have linked the strong result to their industrial services businesses, with WesTrac's EBIT up 35% and Coates Hire up 15% on a pro forma basis.
Seven Group CEO Ryan Stokes said the "majority of the company's earnings and asset value" were attributable to WesTrac and Coates Hire – strong businesses units that would help to generate cash flow going forward.
Seven Group Holdings announced a fully-franked dividend of 21c per share, up 5% to be paid out on April 20.