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Stanley Gibbons losses narrow as transformation plan bears fruit
28th Nov 2019 07:44
(Sharecast News) - Philatelist Stanley Gibbons reported a narrowing of its interim losses on Thursday as its transformation programme bears fruit.
In the six months to 30 September, pre-tax losses narrowed to £661,000 from £2.4m in the first half of 2018 as revenues ticked up to £6.7m from £5m the year before.
In the philatelic division, sales rose to £3.4m from £1.8m the year before and a profit of £39,000 was generated versus a loss of £381,000. The retail, auction and dealing operations all saw improvements in revenue.
Revenues in the publishing and coins & medals segments were pretty much flat. The publishing business narrowed losses to £3,000 from £50,000 thanks to a reorganisation of the procurement process, while the coins & medals division saw profit fall to £158,000 from £218,000.
The group pointed out that the coin business suffered the most from its period of financial difficulty and said it is still rebuilding the stock levels which will enable its turnover and profit to grow in future.
Chairman Harry Wilson said: "It is now 20 months since the refinancing and the start of an ambitious plan to transform the group. I am pleased to say that these are the first results which clearly show the progress which is being made - not least by the publication of this interim report well ahead of recent years."
Having recently committed to making its flagship store in the Strand its home "for the foreseeable future", the company said a major redevelopment of the premises will begin early in the new year and "will complement the rebranding which we launched a few months ago".
The group also said it has been busy on the technology side, with the release of new websites for both Stanley Gibbons & Baldwin's and "significant" improvements on digital publishing & marketing.
At 1140 GMT, the shares were up 11% at 2.50p.
In the six months to 30 September, pre-tax losses narrowed to £661,000 from £2.4m in the first half of 2018 as revenues ticked up to £6.7m from £5m the year before.
In the philatelic division, sales rose to £3.4m from £1.8m the year before and a profit of £39,000 was generated versus a loss of £381,000. The retail, auction and dealing operations all saw improvements in revenue.
Revenues in the publishing and coins & medals segments were pretty much flat. The publishing business narrowed losses to £3,000 from £50,000 thanks to a reorganisation of the procurement process, while the coins & medals division saw profit fall to £158,000 from £218,000.
The group pointed out that the coin business suffered the most from its period of financial difficulty and said it is still rebuilding the stock levels which will enable its turnover and profit to grow in future.
Chairman Harry Wilson said: "It is now 20 months since the refinancing and the start of an ambitious plan to transform the group. I am pleased to say that these are the first results which clearly show the progress which is being made - not least by the publication of this interim report well ahead of recent years."
Having recently committed to making its flagship store in the Strand its home "for the foreseeable future", the company said a major redevelopment of the premises will begin early in the new year and "will complement the rebranding which we launched a few months ago".
The group also said it has been busy on the technology side, with the release of new websites for both Stanley Gibbons & Baldwin's and "significant" improvements on digital publishing & marketing.
At 1140 GMT, the shares were up 11% at 2.50p.