Straight Plc (AIM: STT), the environmental products and services group is today providing an update on trading ahead of its interim results announcement on Thursday 27 September 2012.
Group sales increased in the first half of 2012 by approximately 11% to £16.7m (2011: £15.0m). This increase in sales was assisted by strong performance from the garden and hardware sector. The Group is now trading profitably and further cost reductions and product innovations are expected to improve this position as the year progresses. Net debt at the end of June stood at £3.2m, a reduction from £4.1m at the end of December 2011.
The Group made significant further reductions in its cost base at the end of the second quarter of 2012 and during July in order to align the manufacturing capability of the factory it acquired in 2010 with core sales demand. The benefit of these actions, which included a number of redundancies, will only come through in the second half of the year. On this basis, whilst the Group has returned to underlying profitability in recent months, the Board believes that full year results are likely to be below current market expectations.
For further information please contact:
Straight plc
James Newman, Chairman
07850 672 727
Jonathan Straight, Chief Executive
0113 245 2244
Cenkos Securities
Ivonne Cantu (Nomad) / Christian Hobart (Sales)
0207 397 8980
Christian Hobart (Sales)
Redleaf Polhill
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett / Jenny Bahr
0207 566
6720
Jenny Bahr
straight@redleafpolhill.com
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