COLEFAX GROUP PLC
(“Colefax” or the “Group”)
Half Year Results for the six months ended 31 October 2019
Colefax is an international designer and distributor of furnishing fabrics & wallpapers and owns a leading interior decorating business. The Group trades under five brand names, serving different segments of the soft furnishings marketplace; these are Colefax and Fowler, Cowtan & Tout, Jane Churchill, Manuel Canovas and Larsen.
Highlights
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Group sales down 5.3% to £42.98m (2018: £45.38m) and by 7.4% on a constant currency basis |
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Core Fabric Division sales down 1.1% to £36.50m (2018: £36.89m) and by 3.8% on a constant currency basis |
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Decorating Division sales down 26.8% to £5.23m (2018: £7.14m) against a strong prior year comparative |
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Group profit before tax down 20.4% to £2.88m (2018: £3.62m) |
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Earnings per share decreased by 14.3% to 23.9p (2018: 27.9p) |
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Cash increased by £1.63m to £11.09m (30 April 2019: £9.46m) |
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Interim dividend up by 4.0% to 2.6p per share (2018: 2.5p) |
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David Green, Chairman, said:
“The Group's performance over the last six months reflects difficult trading conditions in most of our major markets. This was not entirely unexpected given Brexit uncertainty and the low level of high end housing transactions in the US and the UK. In addition our Decorating Division returned to more normal levels of activity following an exceptional performance last year.
“During the period we were able to benefit from the Brexit related weakness of Sterling against the Dollar which may not continue in the future. In the US a strong stock market is usually positively correlated with sales but we have yet to see a significant improvement in trading. Following the decisive UK election result we detect an improvement in business confidence but sales prospects in the UK and Europe are still linked to the outcome of trade deal negotiations with the EU.
“The Group has a strong balance sheet with cash of £11.09 million. Although we expect trading conditions to remain relatively challenging we are well placed to take advantage of any improvements in market conditions and will continue to invest with confidence in our portfolio of luxury brands and our worldwide distribution network.”