Walker Greenbank enjoys strong overseas performance

1st Oct 2013 08:07

Luxury interior furnishings group Walker Greenbank reported a 13 per cent increase in underlying profit and ramped up its dividend payment by over a fifth.The group, whose brands include Sanderson, Morris & Co., Harlequin, Zoffany and Scion, said adjusted profit before tax rose to £3.06m in the six months ended July 31st from £2.70m year earlier, as a strong overseas performance outweighed a weaker performance at its main UK and US markets.Sales increased 2% to £39.1m during the period, buoyed by strong overseas brand sales particularly in the US, Western Europe and the Far East. UK brand sales declined by 1.7% largely due to upmarket Zoffany dipping 5.6%, though in the period since June sales are 2% ahead of a year ago, the group explained.Terry Stannard, Walker Greenbank's Chairman, said brand sales overall had improved in the second half of the year, with the UK also recovering."It is encouraging to note that brand sales in the UK are up 2.6% in September on an improving trend, giving us confidence as we enter the key autumn selling period."Total brand sales in the 8 weeks since the half-year rose 3.8% from the same time last year.Licensing income jumped 26% to £1.01m, driven by Sanderson in Japan and its bedding licensees in the UK and Australia.The group added that with manufacturing and licence income continuing to perform strongly and it remains confident of meeting market expectations for the full year.The interim dividend payment has been increased 21.7% to 0.28p per share. CJ