LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Luxury wallpaper and fabric maker Walker Greenbank blamed "challenging and uncertain" trading for a fall in sales outside the USA last year.
Walker Greenbank recorded a 1.1% increase in group sales year-on-year to £113.3m, something the group told investors on Tuesday reflected a "generally difficult marketplace" which offset higher third-party manufacturing orders overseas and a "very strong" performance from its licensing business.

The AIM-listed firm saw UK sales fall 6.2% following a "modest improvement" at the beginning of its second trading half which failed to carry on, which was attributed to a "weak" consumer environment.

Walker Greenbank revealed its wallpaper and fabric manufacturing operations had also witnessed declining orders in the UK during the year ended 31 January.

In the US, brand sales were up 6.6%, but a 3% decline in Western Europe and a 7.9% fall in its other global markets dragged the group to an overall decline in brand sales of 4.1%.

Looking forward, Walker Greenbank said: "As the company commences its new financial year our core market in the UK remains both challenging and uncertain and the trend in Brand product sales remains unchanged.

"The focus of the company is to seek to mitigate some of the impact of this difficult trading environment through cost-saving initiatives."

As of 1200 GMT, Walker Greenbank shares had sunk 11.11% to 76p.

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