Specsavers has paid £۱۲m to its parent company controlled by its founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins after the high street optician’s profits increased by more than a quarter.
The group operates nearly ۳,۰۰۰ optometry, audiology and ophthalmology businesses globally in at least eight countries, including more than ۱,۲۰۰ in the UK, through hundreds of independent partners.
Specsavers shared out a payment of almost £۲۵۸m to these shop owners, up from £۲۳۹m in the previous year.
It said it had revived paying a dividend to its Perkins-controlled parent, Specsavers International Healthcare Limited, after pre-tax profits rose to £۴۲۹.۷m in the year to this February, while sales increased ۷% to £۴.۳bn.
No dividend was paid to the Guernsey-based parent in the previous year, when Specsavers said it had “paused all dividends” as a one-off “due to economic and political uncertainty and their own significant expansion and investment”. In the two prior years dividends of about £۱۵m were paid.
“The resumption of dividend payments at a level in line with historic amounts reflects the strength of the business and confidence in its future performance,” a spokesperson said. “Importantly, this has been achieved while continuing to invest in the organisation’s long-term growth and their commitment to delivering value for customers.”
Specsavers said sales had risen “as we continue to attract customers to the brand despite a challenging macro-economic landscape”.
According to the accounts, profits rose as the company had strived to keep costs flat and reduced “non-value add activities”.
They said inflation “will continue to present both challenges and opportunity and our regional plans are constantly being reviewed and updated to respond to changing market forces”. The company said it aimed to “absorb inflationary price increases where possible and to avoid passing increased costs on to our customers”.
The group faced inflation on wages, utilities and from supplier costs, as well as increasing regulatory pressure. It is also investing in improving its website as customers increasingly want to mix in-store visits with interacting online.
The Perkinses, whose combined fortune is now calculated at £۱.۴bn by the Sunday Times rich list, founded Specsavers in ۱۹۸۳. The business was devised at the family table tennis table in Guernsey, and the first stores opened on the island and in the UK the following year.
The couple, now in their ۸۰s, met on their first day at Cardiff University and set up their own opticians when they were in their early ۲۰s.
In the ۱۹۶۰s it was still rare for women to train as opticians, let alone start their own businesses. Mary Perkins was one of four women on her optometry course in a class of ۳۰.
