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Funeral company Dignity reported a sharp fall in half-yearly profits as a 'significantly' lower number of deaths during the half hurt performance.
For the 26 week period ended 28 June 2019, pre-tax profits fell 61% to £14.9m and revenues slipped 12% to £153.3m
The company blamed the weaker performance on the decline in the absolute number of deaths, which had continued in the second quarter following a 12% decrease in the first three months.
The number of deaths in the first half was 300,000, down 7% from 324,000 a year earlier.
The company said its transformation plan remained on track with key branch pilots expected to commence in the second half of the year.
Looking ahead, the company said its outlook for the full year therefore remained dependent on a greater number of deaths in the second half of this year than the previous year.
At 9:41am: (LON:DTY) Dignity PLC share price was -57.75p at 556.75p