Creightons profit and revenue rise despite 'difficult' environment

Creightons reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue on Tuesday despite a difficult trading environment.

In the year to the end of March, operating profit rose 8.1% to £1.64m on revenue of £34.8m, up 13.8% from 2017. The company proposed a final dividend of 0.23p per share, in line with the previous year.

During the year, own branded sales grew 13%, including export sales growth of 15%, while sales of retailer own label products were up 46%.

The company successfully launched the Feather & Down range in May on an exclusive basis with Boots, with wider store distribution secured for the coming year.

Creightons said its decision to outsource some manufacturing of its own brand while it invests in personnel and equipment had been successful, with all previously outsourced manufacturing brought back in house by the end of last month. Outsourcing allowed the business to maintain sales and pre-tax profit growth but hit profits by £299,000, Creightons said.

Net cash on hand was £221,000 versus £2m the year before, mainly due to increased investment in working capital together with further investment in new product development and plant and equipment to support sales growth.

Managing director Bernard Johnson said: "The team across the group has performed exceptionally in a difficult environment, coping well with the challenges arising from significant organic sales growth, with continued expansion in our customer base and product offering.

"We are continuing our programme to increase capacity which will enable the group to meet the future demand, from the UK and overseas, for its products and services, whilst reviewing areas of the business that are not meeting our profit expectation."

At 1545 BST, the shares were up 24% to 32.05p.