16th Jan 2020 12:01
(Alliance News) - Portmeirion Group PLC on Thursday expressed confidence going forward amid revenue growth in 2019 and stabilisation in the South Korean market.
The stock was 2.5% higher in London in midday trade at 825.00 pence a share.
The homewares manufacturer and distributor said it expects revenue and pretax profit for 2019 to be in line with revised market expectations. Portmeirion is set to report revenue of at least GBP92 million, a 3% increase year-on-year, thanks to the Nambe acquisition in July last year.
Excluding the benefit of Nambe, the US market, the largest for the company, declined by 12% in US dollar terms, but is expected to return to growth in 2020, Portmeirion said.
Like-for-like sales, meanwhile, are expected to decline by 5% on the prior year, amid lower demand in the company's export markets for it Botanic Garden ranges.
Elsewhere, Portmeirion said its migration towards online continues, with total online sales in its core UK and US markets growing by 17% year-on-year. In addition, sales from the company's own e-commerce platforms grew 16% year-on-year and are expected to continue to grow strongly in 2020.
"Whilst 2019 was a challenging year, we have taken a long term view to protect our brand in our South Korean market," said Chief Executive Mike Raybould.
Portmeirion said it had faced overstocking due to the level of reshipping from other markets into South Korea. The company has invested "considerable resource" in 2019 to resolve this issue.
Portmeirion said it intends to continue to focus on this in 2020 in order to protect demand in South Korea in the long term.
"We are confident in our strategic plan and the long term opportunities to grow our business," added Raybould.
Portmeirion said it will publish its 2019 results on March 19.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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