LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Celebration, stationery, gifting and creative play products IG Design Group updated the market on its first quarter of trading to 30 June on Tuesday, confirming it was in line with management expectations with a "strong pipeline" built in all regions.
The AIM-traded firm said the tangible benefits from recent initiatives included the unification of the group's three UK businesses under a single leadership team, the synergies resulting from its acquisition of Lang in the US, and the national all-store roll out of the company's single greeting card range with Australia's largest discounter.

Group sales during the first quarter, combined with overall customer order levels already received for the balance of the year, gave the directors "confidence" in the outcome for the full financial year, the board said.

"We are pleased with the progress made in the first quarter, particularly with regard to the various incremental growth initiatives highlighted at the group's results," said group CEO Paul Fineman.

"Alongside this, our order book is yet again at record levels with strong momentum fueled by excellent product innovation and ever closer relationships across our broad customer base."

In the Americas, sales volume growth together with product mix was continuing to "enhance margins" across the firm's broadening customer base.

The region achieved noteworthy momentum in the creative play categories, and the investment in "state-of-the-art" gift wrap converting facilities continued to deliver production efficiencies.

IG Design said the region was also benefiting from further significant synergies from the Lang acquisition, in line with management plans.

In the UK, having unified the company's three UK-based businesses under one leadership team, IG said it enhanced its ability to deliver a coordinated offering of product and service solutions to its broad base of customers, whilst retaining product and commercial expertise.

Following the reorganisation, the region was trading in line with expectations with synergy benefits said to be flowing through.

The firm's investment in the manufacturing of not-for-sale-consumables was fully on schedule and on budget.

Its order book for the new products was building strongly, and its initial shipments were scheduled to take place in the second half of the year.

The company's continental Europe region was on course to achieve record sales and production levels across the group's core gift packaging product categories.

Its second efficient and environmentally-friendly printing press was on schedule and on budget to be installed in time for main production in the 2019 financial year.

Additionally, sales of both stationery and gift products were "encouraging", the board said, especially to its existing base of Europe's "strongest and growing" multiple retail customers.

Down under, IG said the Australia region saw "particularly strong" growth in the higher margin independent store sector.

Having won a major new contract for the supply of everyday greetings cards with Australia's largest discounter, the company was said to be benefitting from the economies of scale the opportunity presented, particularly leveraging its logistical capability and scale.

"Organic growth opportunities exist in all regions, and our strong balance sheet is also providing the flexibility to continue to evaluate M&A opportunities," Paul Fineman added.

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