4Imprint profits slump 93% as it takes significant hit from pandemic

4Imprint reported a 93% slump in full-year pre-tax profits on Tuesday as it said 2020 results were "significantly" impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the 53 weeks to 2 January, pre-tax profit tumbled to £3.84m from £53.99m a year earlier, with revenues down 35% to £560.04m. Underlying pre-tax profit slid 92% to £4.37m.

The direct marketer of promotional products said 960,000 total orders were processed during the year, down from 1.59m in 2019.

4Imprint said its operational and financial performance was dominated by the spread of the pandemic, which had a "devastating impact" on its trading environment.

"From mid-March onwards the group experienced severe operational disruption alongside significantly decreased demand for promotional products," it said. Weekly order counts plunged from around 13% ahead of 2019 for the first two months of the year to a low point in mid-April of less than 20% against the same comparative.

Chairman Paul Moody said: "The group has seen an encouraging recovery since the initial shock of Covid-19 in the first half of the year. We look forward to the beneficial effect that vaccine programmes may bring to the economy. The fourth quarter of 2020 was relatively robust, enhanced by seasonal apparel and year-end gift giving.

"Order counts in January and February 2021 were 65% of 2019 levels, reflecting typically lower order activity at the start of the year combined with volatility caused by news flow and weather events in our primary US market. In the past three weeks, there has been a marked increase in trading momentum, with order intake compared to 2019 approaching the 70% seen in the fourth quarter of 2020."

At 0915 GMT, the shares were down 12% at 2,365p.