10 October 2018 – interim results
Results for the six months ended 31 July 2018 have been released. Sales were down 1.4% to £54.7m (2017: £55.5m) and adjusted underlying profit before tax was down 28.3% at £4.3m (2017: £6.0m). Adjusted underlying earnings per share were down 32.6% at 4.73p (2017: 7.02p) and the interim dividend was unchanged at 0.69p per share. On a more positive note, net debt was reduced to £3.4m at 31 July 2018 versus £5.2m a year earlier. Board changes were also announced. John Sach has stepped down as Chief Executive. Christopher Rogers, currently a Non-executive Director, is to become Interim Executive Chairman and Terry Stannard, Non-executive Chairman, is to become a Non-Executive Director. We keep our HOLD rating for now.