Findel narrows half year losses

27th Nov 2013 09:36

Home shopping and education business Findel narrowed its first half losses as it reported a 51 per cent rise in revenue of 243.6m pounds. Loss before tax came to £0.4m in the six months ended September 27th, down from a loss of £6m the previous year.The company's Express Gifts division, which includes toys, gifts, games, home & leisure and discount clothing, accounted for 50% of revenue as sales rose 10.7%.The Education arm, which supplies resources and equipment to schools in the UK, saw sales increase 8.2% while marketing arm Kleeneze experienced a 3.5% decline in sales.Overall net debt was £15.4m lower following receipt of net proceeds from sale of its Healthcare division at the start of the financial year."We are very encouraged by these results and the sustained progress against our turnaround plans," said Chief Executive Roger Siddle. "In particular, Express Gifts has started the Christmas period strongly and is well positioned to take advantage of the busy period ahead. Education Supplies continues to strengthen with a significant improvement over prior year."We see further potential in all group companies and as a management team we are very focused on ensuring these businesses fulfil their potential in the coming years." Shares rose 1.59% to 255.25p at 10:00 on Wednesday. RD