22nd Sep 2015 08:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pittards PLC Tuesday reported a rise in profit in the first half of 2015, despite a fall in revenue as it improved its gross margin, but warned that current trading is below expectations in a "depressed" leather industry.
Shares in Pittards were trading down 18% at 105.50 pence Tuesday morning.
The leather producer said that its pretax profit in the six months ended June 30 doubled to GBP0.6 million from GBP0.3 million the year before, even though revenue fell to GBP15.6 million from GBP17.4 million. Increased gross margin offset lower sales volumes as it benefited from "more favourable currency movements".
Pittards warned though that the current order book is below its expectations, reflecting a lower level of demand in July and August. It said that activity levels in the leather industry are "depressed" and likely to remain so in the medium term.
"Looking further forward, a number of new opportunities are starting to appear and these could begin to have an impact in the second half of 2016," Chairman Stephen Boyd said in a statement.
"We are in the process of reviewing our strategy for the next three years to validate, and, where appropriate, reset our priorities. Consequently, we anticipate continuing to make substantial investments in people and training, during 2016, in order to facilitate the delivery of our strategic priorities to meet our customers' evolving needs and deliver superior shareholder value in the longer term," he added.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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