Hornby on track for gold

1st Aug 2011 08:07

Hornby, famed for its model railways and Scalextric kits, is on track for a good year after broadening its supply base, while its London 2012 Olympics range of collectibles is gaining sales momentum. Chairman Neil Johnson said: "The group is trading well. We have laid the foundations for growth in both the short and medium term and we look forward to the future with confidence."As ever, the company's fortunes will depend on consumer confidence in the crucial pre-Christmas period, but in the meantime the businesses in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA have made a good start to the new financial year. "Since the beginning of the financial year shipments from our principal supplier in China have been in line with our requirements, supplemented by increased shipments from our broader supply base. This has enabled us to achieve year-on-year sales growth in the UK and Continental Europe," Johnson told shareholders.The company's range of London Olympics-themed collectibles has opened the door to a number of new retail outlets for the firm which Hornby hopes to continue selling to when the 2012 Olympiad is but a memory.The group continues to have access to secured banking facilities of £19.0m in the UK maturing between 2012 and 2014. Net debt at 30 June 2011 was £9.3 million (31 March 2011 £6.1 million).The share price was 136.25p (no change) at 08.34. NR