Findel reports strong sales growth
Multi-channel retailer Findel has reported a 4.5% increase in sales in its second half after its largest business Express Gifts had its strongest Christmas in four years.
The home shopping and sports kit firm said sales at Express Gifts rose 11.1% in the 15 weeks to 17 January from a year ago. The business said it benefited from a new pricing approach which has helped to increase customer numbers by 5.4% in the last 12 months.
Findel said trading at its Kleeneze business has responded positively to recent new sales initiatives and increased active ordering distributor numbers. The level of annual sales decline has continued to narrow from 2.5% in the 8 week period to 25 November to 1.2% in the 15 weeks since the half-year.
Sales at the Kitbag sports kit business since the half-year were 2% ahead of last year. However, this required significant levels of promotional activity which suppressed the gross margin. Findel anticipates that Kitbag will report a significant operating loss in the second half of the year.
The company’s healthcare division increased sales by 12.1% on 2010/11 since the half-year although part of the growth was achieved at very low margins due to the structure of certain contracts.
Findel said overall it was encouraged by the progress it was making in a number of areas, building on the strong performance from Express Gifts.
Regarding the outlook, the company said: “The board continues to believe that Findel will deliver improved results in the second half versus the prior year, which in turn will be the start of a trend leading to improved shareholder returns over the medium term.”
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