File photo of a Transcontinental printing operation.Pierre Charbonneau
Transcontinental Inc. is raising its dividend rate by 6 per cent with its next quarterly payment on April 30.
The Montreal-based printing and publishing company announced the dividend hike, to 17 cents per share quarterly and 68 cents on an annual basis, along with financial results showing a higher substantially higher first-quarter profit.
Its adjusted earnings rose 36.7 per cent to $36.1-million, or 46 cents per share. Net income more than doubled to $37.9-million or 49 cents per share. Revenue grew 1.1 per cent to $504.6-million.
Analysts had estimated 38 cents per share of earnings and $515.78-million of revenue.
Transcontinental said its profit benefited from restructuring its operations through acquisitions, divestitures and closures as well as cost-cutting and the rising value of the U.S. dollar.
It added that revenue growth was reduced by a slowdown in flyer printing and a challenging market for advertising spending.