The Group's order book remains strong at the end of the first quarter, providing good visibility and confidence at this early stage of the financial year.
Based on the current production and shipment schedules, the Group's performance is expected to be weighted towards the second half of the financial year, in line with previous years. While there was an unfavourable mix of orders in the first quarter, this is expected to normalise throughout the rest of the year.
The Board's expectations for 2017/18 remain unchanged.
Subject to shareholder approval at today's AGM, the proposed final dividend for the year ended 25 March 2017 of 16.7p per share will be paid on 3 August 2017 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 30 June 2017. This, together with 8.3p per share paid in January 2017, would make a full year dividend of 25.0p per share.