Full year pretax profits came in at £2.4m, up from £1.6m last time, on turnover ahead a 70.5% to £23.7m from £14m.
Earnings per share rose 11.4% to 7.94p. There is a final and total dividend of 1.45p, an increase of 20% from last year.
The results from the UK's third largest bingo operator are better than expected and partly reflect the impact of four acquisitions during the year, increasing the number of clubs in the estate from 24 to 44.
Most notably, there was the contribution of nine months trading from the 13 Walkers clubs, seven months from the Moreton club, ten weeks from the three Apollo clubs and seven weeks from the three Bravo clubs - all bought during the year. Refurbished clubs provided further good support.
The acquisitions of last year were largely funded by debt. Top Ten currently has facilities of £42.5m, of which £30m is drawn, leaving another £12.5m available for 'further acquisitions.
The two unsolicited approaches during the year came to nothing, However, considering the level M&A activity in the sector - only today Stanley Leisure and London Clubs announced they were in merger talks - the approaches indicate to Top Ten management that it is pursuing the right strategy for growth. The group has not looked to attract further offers but says that, naturally, any serious approaches will be given proper consideration.
Sir Aubrey Brocklebank said the two approaches inevitably distracted management but associated costs were kept to a minimum and are not expected have a material effect on the results.
The group is watching developments with the smoking ban in Scotland and Ireland keenly, looking to gain intelligence on how its introduction in England and Wales in late 2007 might impact on its operations. Brocklebank added: 'While we must wait to see the exact wording of the law, we believe that we have a number of strategies which will reduce any negative impact on our trading.
The group, furthermore, remains confident that the overall impact of proposed changes to UK gaming legislation will have a beneficial effect on performance.
In product development, the group says it has trialled new forms of electronic bingo and the results have been 'most encouraging'. It expects to start a roll out initially in selected clubs throughout the forthcoming year.
The group has adopted a cautious approach so far to internet bingo but Brocklebank said today that, following extensive research, it intends to offer a 'Top Ten Internet Bingo' site.
It has also recently invested 'substantial sums' in the latest generation of gaming machines.
All these continuing developments, together with the success of the acquisitions and integration of twenty new clubs during the 2006 year, mean the group is confident about its future growth prospects.
The forecast topping results and upbeat outlook, not to mention investor hopes that more potential suitors may yet come calling, resulted in its shares leaping nearly 9% or 10p to 122.5p by midday. Top Ten Holdings plc shares are volatile and over the 2006 calendar have traded across 107 - 132p.
At 122.5p, they trade on a forward multiple of 11.4. The prospective yield is 1.3%, covered, however, more than six times.
