Norcros FY 2010 Loss Widens On Costs; Consumer Spend Uncertain

22nd Jun 2010 09:02

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Bathroom fittings group Norcros PLC (NXR.LN) Tuesday said its fiscal 2010 pretax loss more than doubled on the year as rising costs offset higher sales, adding the outlook for consumer spending in the U.K. remains uncertain. Norcros' pretax loss for the year ended March 31 widened to GBP10 million from a GBP4.8 million loss a year earlier. It paid out GBP8.2 million of exceptional operating items, compared with GBP7.7 million last year, for things like overseas store closures. Stripping out charges, it made a pretax loss of GBP1.8 million compared with a GBP2.9 million profit a year earlier. Revenue rose on the year to GBP169.6 million from GBP154.2 million, aided by solid U.K. trading and the strength of the South African rand and Australian dollar compared to the pound. The firm has also made operational improvements at its South African tile-making business, which had been struggling. Norcros said it has made an "encouraging" start to the current fiscal and its recent capital raising means it has a strong balance sheet. It said current Finance Director Nick Kelsall has been chosen to replace Joe Matthews as chief executive. Matthews retires next year and Norcros said it has started looking for a new finance director. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 04:02 ET (08:02 GMT)