Findel shares back in favour as profits jump
Investors snapped up shares in Findel yesterday after the home shopping group said that efforts to turnaround the business had helped to double profits last year.
Pre-tax profit before exceptionals jumped to £22m in the year to 28 March from £11.8m last year on sales up 4.8 per cent to £514.7m
Chief executive Roger Siddle joined Findel in 2010 and launched a turnaround plan to repair the balance sheet following debt-fuelled acquisition sprees in the last decade.
He said the uplift in profits was driven by its catalogue and online shopping business Express Gifts, which recorded a 9.6 per cent rise in sales and a 41 per cent leap in operating profit.
The value business, which sells electricals, clothing and homeware has around 1.4m customers, mainly 30 to 50 year-old women buying for their families. However Siddle believes their is scope for the business to eventually have 5m customers.
Kitbag, which runs the online stores for football and tennis clubs such as Wimbledon saw Kitbag – saw losses increase from £1.7m to £4.1m. However, Siddle is confident that events such as the World Cup will help narrow losses this year.