Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - Veterinary services company CVS Group PLC on Monday said its pretax profit fell in the first half of its financial year due to acquisition costs, but adjusted profit was higher as revenue rose.
CVS said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of December was GBP4.3 million, down from GBP5.2 million a year earlier as it made 42 practice surgery acquisitions over the course of the period, with eight more made since the end of it. In addition, the group acquired Highcroft Veterinary Referrals in order to boost its referrals business.
Stripping out the costs related to these acquisitions, pretax profit rose to GBP11.2 million from GBP9.5 million, up 18%, as revenue increased to GBP100.7 million from GBP81.9 million. Like-for-like sales grew 3.0% in the half, with the majority of the growth driven by acquisitions.
CVS said trading since the end of the half has been in line with its expectations, with like-for-like sales growth accelerating.
CVS shares were down 0.9% to 738.26 pence early Monday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
