Qualceram Shires has resumed dividend payments, announcing a final dividend of 5.25 cents per share to investors, despite reporting a drop in profits last year.

The bathroom manufacturer, which has passed on the last three dividend payments, reported profits before tax, excluding exceptional items, of €1.2 million for 2003, down from €1.5 million a year earlier. Operating profits slipped to €3.3 million from €6.2 million.

However, a once-off gain of €2.3 million from the sale of property and the disposal of its acrylics plant in Arklow lifted pre-tax profits to €3.5 million compared with a loss of €11.6 million in 2002. Turnover fell by 5 per cent to €95 million, mainly because of currency movements with sterling and a drop in British sales, which account for more than half of the group total.

But despite the drop in turnover and profits, the company remained upbeat about the outlook. Qualceram said demand for its products in Ireland and Britain was buoyant, and trading in the first quarter was ahead of the same period last year.

It also said it had put foundations in place last year that should result in improved performance and cashflow in the future.

It expects the full impact of the rationalisation of its Hanley plant to feed through in the current year while it should continue to benefit from the sale and leaseback of its properties which it completed last April and which cut its interest bill by more than 50 per cent last year.

This mainly arose from the drop in net debt to €18.9 million from €47.3 million. The group hopes to reduce this by a further €4 million, using the proceeds from the sale of the 14.5 acre Hanley site to developers for residential development.

Qualceram shares closed unchanged at €1.75 last night.