St Ives profit shrinks by two thirds

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.

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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