Johnson Matthey Reports 35% Rise In Pretax Profit, Raises Dividend

Johnson Matthey PLC JMPLY reported a 35% rise in its pretax profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 and lifted its dividend by 20%. Johnson Matthey's revenue for the period surged to GBP5.90 billion, from GBP4.56 billion, in the year-ago period. Its pretax profit rose to GBP195.1 million, from GBP144.1 million. Johnson Matthey's net profit attributable to owners of parent company climbed to GBP149.4 million from GBP104.7 million. Johnson Matthey's diluted EPS from continuing operations rose to 69.6 pence from 48.9. Its underlying EPS rose to 72.8 pence from 56.3 pence. Johnson Matthey raised its dividend per share to 15.0 pence from 12.5 pence.