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James Latham plc ( " James Latham " or " the Company " ) Final Results JAMES latham THE NATURAL CHOICE Chairman's statement The financial year to 31 March 2021 was a year in which we saw considerable disruption to our business . In the first quarter of the year the COVID19 pandemic and lockdown caused a significant reduction in business , we then had to adapt to new ways of operating with working at home and social distancing , and then global supply issues and price rises affected the final quarter of the year . I am therefore very pleased to report good trading results for the financial year to 31 March 2021 . Revenue for the financial year to 31 March 2021 was £ 250.2m , up 1.3 % on last year's £ 247.1m . Like for like volumes increased by 6.6 % , with the growth mainly on delivered business from our own warehouses but with some growth on direct volumes shipped from the ports or from the manufacturers . Unsurprisingly due to COVID19 related operating restrictions , business collected by our customers from the depots has fallen significantly . The cost price of our products has started to rise significantly in the second half of the year and are on average 7.3 % higher than at the start of the financial year . Gross profit percentage for the financial year to 31 March 2021 was 18.0 % compared with 17.6 % in the previous financial year , which shows a good recovery in margin from the 16.9 % reported in the half year accounts . This figure includes warehouse costs and we are continuing to extend the shift systems to improve our service levels with five of our depots now working 24 hours a day . Profit before tax is £ 18.6m , up £ 2.9m on last year's £ 15.7m . Profit after tax for the year is £ 15.0m , up from last year's £ 12.5m . Earnings per ordinary share is 75.4p ( 2020 : 63.1p ) an increase of 19.5 % . As at 31 March 2021 net assets have increased to £ 121.8m ( 2020 : £ 104.3m ) . Inventory levels have increased to £ 48.3m from £ 44.3m last year . This is partly to do with increased inventory in our new timber pack business , LDT Ireland , based in Dublin , but mainly due to increases in prices for our products . Trade receivables at the year end were £ 1.1m higher than the previous year showing improvements in debtor days . Despite the challenges of the pandemic , bad debts have been minimal . Cash and cash equivalents of £ 28.6m ( 2020 : £ 17.0m ) remain strong with good cash flows from operating activities . At 31 March 2021 the deficit of the defined benefit scheme under IAS19 ( revised ) has reduced to £ 2.6m from £ 11.8m last year . This reduction is largely due to improvements in asset valuations and revision of mortality assumptions following the actuarial triennial valuation . The calculation of the pension deficit remains very sensitive to changes in assumptions . Final dividend The Board has declared a final dividend of 15.5p per Ordinary Share ( 2020 : 10.0p ) . The dividend is payable on 27 August 2021 to ordinary shareholders on the Company's register at close of business on 6 August 2021. The ex - dividend date will be 5 August 2021. The total dividend per ordinary share of 21.2p for the year ( 2020 : 15.5p ) is covered 3.6 times by earnings ( 2020 : 4.1 times ) . Current and future trading The strong demand seen towards the end of this financial year , has continued into the new financial year , with margins also improving . Global demand for timber products is very strong , being driven primarily by North America , but also from the construction sector worldwide . Many manufacturers have introduced an allocation system limiting the ability for us to grow our volumes . These manufacturers are unable to significantly increase capacity as they struggle with COVID19 ( especially in South America ) , labour shortages , rising costs and a shortage of raw materials . We have seen significant price rises on many commodity products . This is an area where our volumes have grown as we have been able to use our supplier relationships to secure supply of product for our customers in these exceptional market conditions . There have also been worldwide issues on shortages of shipping containers , in part due to the COVID19 pandemic , with increased container rates which has further increased the costs of many of our imported products , as well as creating severe delays to shipments .