St Ives swings into FY loss

19th Oct 2009 07:27

Printing group St Ives reported a full year loss as the group battles against extreme competition and an oversupplied market.The group, which prints the Economist and Vogue magazines, said loss before tax came in at £7.2m for the 52 weeks ended 31 July 2009 compared with a profit of £30.6m. Revenue for the year fell to £386.8m from £391.2m.Commenting on the results, chief executive, Patrick Martell said, "The outlook for the markets we supply remains uncertain and will continue to be impacted by both the current economic climate and structural changes that have been accelerated by the recession."St Ives warned that the outlook for the markets will continue to be impacted by both the current economic climate and structural changes that have been accelerated by the recession, such as advertising moving onto the internet.However, St Ives said actions taken, its financial strength and well invested businesses, will mitigate these effects."As a result, we are confident that the group remains well positioned during this turbulent period and will make progress as and when conditions begin to improve." St Ives has proposed a final dividend of 0.5p per ordinary share.