Spotless Group Ltd (ASX:SPT) says its half-year net profit has fallen 29 per cent, though full-year revenue and earnings are expected to exceed the year before.
The maintenance and cleaning services company has posted a net profit of $17.4 million in the six months to 31 December 2010, down from $24.5 million achieved the same time a year earlier.
Revenue however rose 11.7 per cent to $1.35 billion, while earnings before interest and tax slipped 4.4 per cent to $46 million.
Spotless Group has declared an interim dividend of five cents, 60 per cent franked.
Managing director and CEO Josef Farnik says the result includes short-term costs associated with growth and investment.
Mr Farnik also says that retendering and cost inflation put pressure on margins and the company is responding through focusing on pricing and costs.
In the 2010 financial year Spotless Group recorded a steady profit of $43.5 million.
In the first six months of the 2011 financial year Spotless Group booked a net profit of $17.4 million.
