Marketing and print firm St Ives said half year pre-tax profit fell by two thirds but it remains confident it can reposition and make progress in the full year.
Pre-tax profit for the 27 weeks to February 1st shrank to £2.0m from £6.4m a year earlier. Revenue for the interim period fell 2.8% to £161.7m. On a like-for-like basis, not including acquisitions, revenue increased by 2.9%.
CEO Patrick Martell commented: "The group is in a strong financial position and we remain confident that we will make further progress in the full year to reposition the group, extend our propositions and drive organic and acquisition growth in our Marketing Services businesses.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Commenting on the trading environment, he added: "The UK economy is showing only tentative signs of improvement with confidence still fragile and consumers continuing to be under financial pressure. However...we remain confident that we will make further progress in the full year."
Underlining its confidence in future trading, the interim dividend has been raised by 14.3% to 2.0p per share.
CJ
-
Trump wants to colonise Mars – will it happen?Donald Trump wants to plant the US flag on Mars. Could humans really live there?
-
Klarna postpones US IPO as Trump's tariffs rattle marketsBuy-now-pay-later lender Klarna has postponed its US initial public offering owing to the market turbulence. It is not alone, says Matthew Partridge
