Haynes narrows sales deficit

21st Jan 2011 07:42

Haynes Publishing, the car repair manuals and DIY book firm, clawed back some of the first quarter sales deficit, but not enough to prevent a 2% decline for the first half.Revenue fell to £15.7m in the six months ended 30 November from £15.95m in 2009, leaving profit before tax little changed at £2.74m.Sales in local currency at the North American and Australian operation dipped 1% to $13.76m, but rose 5% to £8.85m in the US on a reported basis thanks to the weak pound. The UK & Europe fell 9% to £6.85m, unable to recover all the 12% slump at both the UK automotive manuals and general publishing divisions during the first quarter, although lower overheads and restructuring costs versus the year before pushed profit for the region up 11% to £0.96m."The group is in a strong financial position. All parts of the business are profit making, we have positive cash flow, we are free of borrowings and we have strong banking relationships in our main geographical markets," said Haynes."These factors place the business on a solid platform from which to move forward and take advantage of growth opportunities as they arise."There's an interim dividend of 6.2p a share.