LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Luxury interior furnishings group Walker Greenbank said on Friday that overall trading in the year to date is in line with the board's expectations, with the sales trend in the UK improving.
In an update ahead of its annual meeting, the company said that in the UK - which represents around 52% of brand sales - market conditions remain challenging but the sales trend has improved since the start of the year.

Meanwhile, brand sales in international markets, excluding the US, are up in the first 18 weeks of the year on a like-for-like basis at constant currency compared with the same time last year.

Brand sales in the US have declined slightly due to the deterioration in Clarke & Clarke's US sales but the group said plans "are well underway" to return the business to growth in the second half.

Morris & Co has been growing particularly strongly, the company said, reflecting the sustained revival of interest in the arts & crafts movement. Clarke and Clarke, outside of the US, also continues to perform well.

Non-executive chairman Dianna Thompson said: "We are focusing on revenue-generating and cost-saving initiatives to mitigate current trading conditions and are on track to deliver anticipated savings in the current financial year and beyond."

Walker said licensing income in the year to date is in line with the board's expectations. For the full year and excluding apparel contracts, it is expected to show an improvement on the previous year.

At 100 BST, the shares were down 1% at 75.70p.

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