First half revenues slip at McBride

HOUSEHOLD and personal care products manufacturer McBride said first half revenues slipped by 3%.

The listed group has one of its largest production sites in Middleton, Manchester, as well as sites in Barrow, Bradford and Hull.

It said the decline, in the six months to December, was down to the wind-down of some of its contract manufacturing business. Sales in Central and Eastern Europe were strong, and the France and Benelux business returned to growth.

In the UK sales were hit by promotional activity by the big brands. Overall, its private label revenues – those items manufactured for other brands – grew by 0.5%.

In a statement the group said: “As a consequence of the weaker performance in UK, the board expects adjusted operating profit for the first half to be around £10m. We expect an improvement in performance in our second half given the extent of new product launches in the pipeline and cost saving initiatives underway, but this will be mitigated to some degree should the current level of branded promotional activity continue, and with demand in the UK retail sector remaining relatively weak.”

Net debt stands at around £85m.