Stelrad Group PLC on Monday steeply increased its annual payment to shareholders, despite profit falling and costs rising, citing resilience in its business model.

The Newcastle, England-based steel panel radiator manufacturer was keen to stress a ‘record’ annual performance, as 2022 pre-IAS 29 revenue was up 15% to £312.1 million from £272.3 million a year earlier.

Stelrad noted that it was required to adopt the IAS 29 accounting rule in respect of its Turkish subsidiary for the first time as a result of inflation in Turkey exceeding 100% over a three-year period.

After IAS 29, statutory revenue was slightly higher in 2022 at 316.3 million, but the non-cash item reduced statutory profit in 2022 by £16.3 million. For 2023, IAS 29 will not be applied, Stelrad said, due to a change in functional currency.

Overall, pretax profit was down 37% to £10.2 million in 2022 from £16.4 million in 2021.

Cost of sales rose 22% to £235.2 million from £192.3 million. Selling and distribution expenses, excluding exceptional items, were up 15% to £40.8 million from £35.5 million.

Exceptional costs fell to £755,000 from £9.6 million, but other operating income dropped by 88% to £373,000 from £3.2 million, and other operating expenses rising to £3.4 million from nothing the year before.

Stelrad also suffered net monetary losses in 2022 of £7.9 million, versus no such hit in 20021. This was offset by finance costs dropping 56% to £4.6 million from £10.4 million.

Despite the fall in annual profit, Stelrad stressed its resilient performance and rising revenue, multiplying its total dividend across 2022 to 7.64 pence each from 0.96p in 2021. This includes a final dividend payment declared on Monday of 4.72p, multiplying from the sole dividend payment in 2021.

Looking ahead, Stelrad said its 2023 outlook remains in line with current market expectations.

Stelrad said ‘while it is early in the year’ and it is ‘mindful of the exceptionally strong comparatives’ in the first half of 2022, trading since the year-end has been ‘encouraging’.

‘We delivered a record performance in 2022 thanks to the resilience of our business model combined with the hard work of our employees, the strength of our product offering, the quality of our customer relationships and our relentless approach to operational improvements across the firm,’ said Chief Executive Officer Trevor Harvey.

‘While the market backdrop is not easy, as a business with a near 100-year track record, we have successfully navigated previous market downturns and our current management team has the experience and ability to deliver ongoing outperformance despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. Longer-term, the twin drivers of decarbonisation and energy efficient heating remain firmly in place and we remain well-placed to deliver value for stakeholders.’

Shares in Stelrad were flat at 130.00p each in London on Monday morning.

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