Pilkington's strong results for the year ended 31/03/05 included an increase in dividend. The glassmaker opted to pay 3.35p (3.25p), increasing to 5.1p for the full year, the first increase in the dividend for a decade. The dividend is covered over two & a half times by free cash flow. Although turnover from continuing operations, including joint ventures & associates, decreased 2% to £2.7BN, at constant exchange rates this was equivalent to an increase of 2%. Operating profit including joint ventures & associates was up from £213M to £231 million. The report also noted that Energy surcharges on Building Products' deliveries in EU & N America have helped to alleviate the significant cost pressure from rising energy prices. EU Building Products' results were affected by low industry capacity utilisation, but outside EU Building Products results continued to improve. Other highlights included a record 70 new model launches in Pilkington Automotive.
