CHURCHILL CHINA Plc
(“Churchill China” or the “Company”)
FULL YEAR TRADING UPDATE
Churchill China plc (AIM: CHH), the manufacturer of innovative performance ceramic products serving hospitality markets worldwide, is pleased to announce the following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2020.
The business has continued to address the impact of COVID on our hospitality markets and operations. Following the update provided with our Interim Report in August 2020 we have maintained good progress against our revised plans. Although the fourth quarter was affected by increasing COVID related restrictions in all our markets, Churchill traded profitably in the second half of the year. We believe we have improved our position in key markets through further investment in sales and new product development. Our financial position remains robust and whilst cash and deposit levels have reduced slightly from the half year, as anticipated, we retain comfortable levels of liquidity. This position will support our forward performance.
We expect improved trading conditions in 2021, although the first quarter of the year will be affected by ongoing government restrictions across our markets. Our preparations for Brexit are in place and we welcome the conclusion of a trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Our internal targets for the next year reflect our focus on the longer term and on supporting the continued development of the Churchill business.
Whilst we retain a strong balance sheet, given continuing uncertainty in relation to COVID and government responses, we believe it is too early to declare a dividend at this stage. We will further assess this position at the time of publication of our Preliminary Results in April 2021.
Churchill is a resilient business with an ability to respond quickly to changes in our operating environment. We believe that we remain well placed to recover strongly when market conditions improve.