Robinson sees FY profit and revenue in line with market expectations

AIM-listed plastic and paperboard manufacturer Robinson said on Thursday that revenue and profit for 2017 are expected to be in line with market views.

In a trading statement ahead of its final results in March 2018, the company said it continues to invest in initiatives to support efficient delivery of the new business currently planned for next year and beyond.

The associated costs of this, along with increased input prices will limit the recovery in earnings in the short term. However, revenue growth combined with management action to improve margins is expected to feed through to improved profits in the medium term.

In addition, Robinson said that following outline planning approval, progress continues to be made to find prospective buyers for the surplus 15 acre Boythorpe Works and 8 acre Walton Works sites in Chesterfield for residential and retail/commercial uses.

FinnCap said the update supports its expectations of revenues of £29m and adjusted pre-tax profit of £1.2m.

"The business pipeline for FY 2018 is encouraging and we are nudging our revenue forecast up from £31m to £32.2m based on new business and some price increases. However, Robinson expects to invest further in opex and capex in FY2018 to support expected new business wins which will act to depress short-term profitability in return for longer-term gains. This results in our FY 2018 adjusted profit before tax estimate falling from £1.8m to £1.1m."

At 1225 GMT, the shares were up 2.6% to 100p.