James Cropper FY trading impacted by Covid-19 pandemic

Cropper said it had "responded quickly" to the challenges, taking swift action to protect staff, reduce costs, optimise cash flow and protect liquidity, but cautioned that all divisions had been affected by the pandemic to varying degrees.

However, the AIM-listed firm pointed out that since the half-year, trading had improved, with its restructuring program now complete.

Cropper said its paper division had suffered the biggest impact from the pandemic, with revenues down 45% in the first half. Although revenues improved in the second half, they were still expected to be down 20% year-on-year.

Due to the improving trading performance, Cropper expects results for the year ending 27 March to be better than previous expectations, with full-year profits expected to be above £3.5m on sales of around £77.0m.

As of 1035 GMT, Cropper shares are up 0.91% at 1,110.0p.