Manufacturer turns off its alarm as sales pick up
Manufacturer Sprue Aegis has turned off its alarm after its 2016 performance improved in the second half of the year.
Last April its shares fell 52% in a day after it warned of losses caused by problems in its French and German markets.
It rallied in the following weeks, but its shares remain one-third lower than in April 2016, valuing the company around £80m.
The Coventry-based manufacturer of home saftey products, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, has announced unaudited sales of £57.1m – down 35% – and operating profits of £2.1m. This was achieved by a £3.0m operating profit in the second half of the year, reversing a £0.9m loss in the six months to June.
Graham Whitworth, executive chairman of Sprue, said: “The team worked effectively to address the key challenges which is reflected in the stronger performance in H2 2016.
“The functionality of home safety products continues to evolve and our R&D team is working to ensure we maintain our ‘best in class’ reputation.”
Sales into Germany recovered strongly in 2016, it said, with further growth forecast because of the phased introduction of smoke alarm regulation in further states in Germany. However France continued to be affected by “significantly lower demand”.
It added that there has been “significant product cost inflation” since the EU referendum, due to the weakness of Sterling against the US Dollar, which has been only partially offset by the strength of the Euro against Sterling.
