Hill & Smith resumes dividend in show of optimism

In a rare bout of optimism, road safety products firm Hill & Smith (LON:HILS) resumed dividend payments despite an 8% decline in sales for the six months ended 30 June, and a 39% fall in profits before tax to £22.8m.

The company’s chief executive offer, Derek Muir said: “We are seeing a gradual recovery in trading and assuming that end markets continue to remain open, we expect a stronger performance in the second half. It remains likely that governments will stimulate their economies through additional or accelerated infrastructure spending, which the Group is well placed to benefit from in the remainder of 2020 and into 2021.”

Hill & Smith shares were 4p better at 1,224p (as at 14:04 BST).