Hills Strong In Competitive Market

“We have growth and profit improvement initiatives under way across all business units,” Ms Hill-Ling said. “In the absence of any major acquisitions we expect the group to achieve a modest increase in profit this year although there are a number of uncertainties, which have yet to be evaluated. Revenue for fiscal 2007 rose by 8.8 per cent to $A1.01 billion, while earnings per share increased by 6.6 per cent to 27.6 cents. The directors announced a fully franked dividend of 14 cents per share, taking the full-year dividend to 27.5 cents. The dividend for 2006 was 26 cents. Operating profit for the home, hardware and Eco products arm of Hills rose by 12.1 per cent to $A13.82 million. The company’s electronic security and entertainment business posted a slightfall in profit – there was a 6.8 per cent drop in OP before interest and tax to$A31.73 million. The fall followed a 44.5 per cent rise in 2006 and 26.5 percent rise in 2005, Ms Hill-Ling said.