12th Sep 2018 14:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - MBL Group PLC on Wednesday said its loss widened in its financial year 2018 as revenue from its former operating businesses fell amid growing competition.
MBL had been home entertainment and garden & home products distributor before shedding these operations and becoming a cash shell in June.
MBL said its pretax loss widened to GBP1.0 million in the financial year to the end of March from GBP903,000 reported a year earlier, due to the rise in administrative expenses.
Exceptional costs also grew sharply to GBP1.1 million from GBP693,000 the year before due to the disposal of subsidiaries, an employment dispute, and the associated legal and professional fees.
Meanwhile, revenue, which includes discontinued operations, decreased by 17% year-on-year to GBP13.2 million from GBP16.0 million.
In March, the company sold its Garden & Home division for GBP800,000 million, while the Home Entertainment division entered administration in mid-June.
The company said its Garden & Home business was affected by competition within the market and disruption to the operation of the business. The Garden & Home division sales during the year decreased by 7.6% to GBP5.9 million.
The Home Entertainment division also experienced a downturn during the year, with a decrease in revenue of 24% to GBP7.3 million.
As a result, the company became a cash shell, and the directors do not expect it to resume trading as operating business within the next twelve months.
The stock was untraded on Wednesday, last quoted at 6.00 pence per share.