Findel races ahead
HOME shopping and educational supplies business Findel enjoyed record sales and profits during the first half of the year thanks to growing internet sales, including a contract with Formula 1.
The Findel Direct home shopping division includes brands such as Letterbox, Cotswold and Confetti. Its Kitbag operation has won contracts to provide online stores for Formula 1 and the English Cricket Board.
The Burley-in-Wharfedale group saw more than 50 per cent of its sales done via the web and saw turnover in the six months to September 30 leap 33% to £298.3m while pre-tax profits was £2.5m compared to a £23m loss for the same period last year.
The group said that 'benchmark' pre-tax profits – that is before the results of businesses sold or closed, restructuring charges and other one-off exceptional items – were £8.5m, more than double the figure for the same period last year.
Chairman Keith Chapman said that the strong sales period had contined into the second half of the year and new acquisitions have “exciting prospects”.
“I firmly believe that the group is in the right place at the right time. We have no exposure to the high street and our home shopping retail business is balanced
by a blue chip educational business. We have a strong and growing credit business, we have developed an exciting cash with order business and we have
established a major, growing, presence on the internet.”
Earnings per share were 3.5p, compared to a loss of 19.5p per share last time and the interim dividend is increased by 12% to 4.7p.
Mr Chapman said: “We are pleased with the group's strong first half, achieving record sales and profit. Progress has been driven in home shopping with a strong performance from our long established credit business and through the integration and growth of Findel Direct. We have also seen excellent growth of sales via the internet, which now account for over 50% of divisional sales. In educational supplies we have focussed on doing the basics right and achieved growth despite challenging market conditions, and in healthcare we have maximised the revenue from our existing contracts.”
