MBL sparkles with 20% profit hike
MBL, the Lancashire distributor of home entertainment products, served up a sparking set of full-year results as sales, profits and dividends all rose by more than 20%.
The Leyland-based company, which is listed on AIM saw revenues rocket 35.7% to £194.9m in the year to the end of March. Profits rose 22.2% to £9.9m, prompting a 25% hike in the final dividend from 6p to 7.5p per share.
MBL is chaired by Peter Cowgill – best known for his impressive stewardship of Bury-based JD Sports Fashion – one of the star performers of the retail sector.
Regarding the strong performance of MBL, Mr Cowgill said: “The group has experienced an encouraging year during a period of significant change.
“The substantial increase in volumes has in part been driven by the successful integration of the combined business segments along with an increase in chart sales over the past 18 months.”
He said the directors were mindful of being exposed to one market sector, and had carried out a strategic and operational review in recent months which will see the group develop “more diverse revenue streams” over the medium term.
With this in mind in June MBL invested £2m for a 15% stake in online careers resource facility U-Xplore.
Cash generative and debt free MBL said it was going to upgrade its IT systems and is also planning to consolidate its operations in Leyland onto a single, purpose built distribution facility during 2011.
Mr Cowgill added: “The economic climate is presenting opportunities for the group to grow and we are confident that we will be able to deliver a solid platform for the future sustainability of the business.”
