Photo-Me posts ‘extremely strong’ results as Covid restrictions ease
Photobooth operators Photo-Me today vowed to pay its shareholders almost £25m in the form of a special dividend after posting “extremely strong” results for the first half of 2022.
The Epsom headquartered firm, that sells a range of photobooths and vending machines, said its balance sheet was bolstered by the reopening of the global economy, as it posted revenues of £115.3m for the first half of 2022 – up 21.9 per cent compared to the same time last year.
First established in 1954, Photo-Me listed on the London stock exchange in 1962, before expanding into Europe in the 1960s and Asia two decades later.
The firm’s uptick in revenues saw Photo-Me’s earnings increase 40.1 per cent to £40.2m as its pre-tax profits surged 65.8 per cent to £19.9m.
On the back of its strong performance, the firm said it would pay shareholders a special dividend of 6.5p per share, on top of its standard dividend of 2.6p a share, at a combined cost of £34.41m.
The Surrey company said its photobooth business recovered faster than expected as travel and social restrictions were eased.
The firm’s launderette operations also continued to perform well in posting revenues of £25.9m, a figure 8.4 per cent higher than at the same time last year.
Photo-Me chief executive Serge Crasnianski said: “Demand for our machines continues to grow at pace, as economies reopen and confidence returns among consumers globally, and we are working hard to keep up with evolving trends and consumer needs”.
“We look forward to maintaining this strong growth as we celebrate our 60th year as a listed company, investing strongly in innovation and rapidly upgrading to the next generations of our machines across all business areas, including photobooths, laundry and food vending,” Crasnianski said.