'Re-engerised' Xaar swings into black

Xaar swung into the black last year, the inkjet printing specialist said on Tuesday, after its overhauled commercial strategy boosted sales.

The London-listed firm said sales revenues from continuing operations rose 23% in the year to 31 December to £72.8m, or by 8% organically.

Adjusted pre-tax profits were £2.8m, compared to a pre-tax loss of £0.6m a year previously, while basic earnings per share rose to 2.3p from 0.9p. The gross margin strengthened to 39% from 34%.

On a total basis, pre-tax profits were £0.7m, down from £14.5m.

Xaar said it had benefited from a new strategy and commercial model, which has seen the firm shift its focus to more attractive end markets and expand its technology capabilities.

It also invested in product and technology, with research and development spend rising 18% in 2022 to £6.7m.

John Mills, chief executive, said: "We have transformed and re-energised Xaar, as demonstrated by our good performance and further strategic progress, with positive contributions from across the group.

"We have delivered strong profitable revenue growth and the important milestone of achieving full-year profitability, which represents great progress against our plan."

Looking to the current year, he added: "While being mindful of the external environment, we remain optimistic for the future, with the business in good shape to continue to make further progress and deliver full-year performance in line with our expectations."

As at 1000 BST, shares in Xaar were up 8% at 194p.