Member Article

Manchester-based home shopping firm Findel report pre-tax profit £1.5 million

Manchester-based Findel plc, a home shopping company, have reported an increase in pre-tax profit to £1.5 million for the six months ending September 26.

This is compared to a loss of £0.4 million for the same period last year.

It is the first time in six years that it has reported positive profit for the first half of the year.

The nature of the businesses within the Findel Group mean that profits have shown, and will continue to show, a significant seasonal bias with the majority of profit being earned in the second half.

The company has also reduced their net debt by £15.8 million compared to the same period of last year.

The company’s Express Gifts business has had a strong first half, with sales 6.3% ahead of the prior year.

The majority of growth comes from existing customers however customer numbers have also increased by 4 %.

Their Kleeneze business continues to underperform and the company state that this needs to be addressed going forward.

The Education business is also facing some struggles and the company report that the performance of these two businesses will modestly impact the full year results.

Group chief executive, Roger Siddle, said: “We are pleased by the performance of our largest business, Express Gifts, which continues to demonstrate its potential against a more challenging retail environment.

“The opportunities within the business remain extremely attractive and we continue to focus on supporting their delivery.

“Although some of our businesses continue to face challenges, overall we remain well positioned for very strong continued progress and to achieve our target of an operating margin in excess of 7% for the full year.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .