Colefax Group (CFX)

Sector:

Household Goods

790.00p
   
  • Change Today:
      20.00p
  • 52 Week High: 895.00
  • 52 Week Low: 655.00
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 7.24m
  • Volume: 636
  • Market Cap: £57.18m
  • RiskGrade: 71
  • Beta: 0.06

Colefax profit drops on weak high-end property markets

By Sean Farrell

Date: Tuesday 28 Jan 2020

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Colefax's profit fell by a fifth in the first half as the luxury fabric and wallpaper company suffered from weak high-end housing markets in the US and UK.
Pretax profit for the six months to the end of October dropped to £2.88m from £3.62m a year earlier as sales declined by 5.3% to £42.98m. Excluding gains from the dollar's strength against the pound, sales fell 7.4%.

The sales decline was mainly driven by a slump in business at Colefax's decorating division, where profit dropped to £255,000 from £738,000. Colefax said this fall was expected for a business whose results depend on project timings but it warned that second-half trading was likely to be weaker than expected.

Profit at the fabric division, which represents 85% of group sales, fell 5.4% to £2.64m. Reported US sales fell 3% and in the UK sales fell 5.8%. Business in both countries was affected by weak markets for high-end property sales. In the UK, this was caused by uncertainty over stamp duty and concerns about Brexit.

The general election has reduced political uncertainty and improved confidence but it will take time for these trends to feed through to Colefax's business, the company said. Furniture operating profit halved to £51,000 but orders are slightly higher than a year ago after the clear election result.

In continental Europe, fabric sales fell 2.8% at constant exchange rates and are expected to keep declining. Colefax chairman David Green said a free trade deal between the UK and the EU was very important for its business and there were "no simple solutions for mitigating the effect of a hard Brexit".

Green said: "The group's performance over the last six months reflects difficult trading conditions in most of our major markets. This was not entirely unexpected given Brexit uncertainty and the low level of high end housing transactions in the US and the UK. In addition our decorating division has experienced lower levels of activity following an exceptional performance last year.

"Following the decisive UK election result we detect an improvement in business confidence but sales prospects in the UK and Europe are still linked to the outcome of trade deal negotiations with the EU."

The interim dividend rose 4% to 2.6p a share. Green said the company had a strong balance sheet with cash of £11.1m.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

Colefax Group Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 790.00p
Change Today 20.00p
% Change 2.60 %
52 Week High 895.00
52 Week Low 655.00
Volume 636
Shares Issued 7.24m
Market Cap £57.18m
Beta 0.06
RiskGrade 71

Colefax Group Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
70.62% above the market average70.62% above the market average70.62% above the market average70.62% above the market average70.62% above the market average
54.55% above the sector average54.55% above the sector average54.55% above the sector average54.55% above the sector average54.55% above the sector average
Price Trend
31.28% above the market average31.28% above the market average31.28% above the market average31.28% above the market average31.28% above the market average
50.00% above the sector average50.00% above the sector average50.00% above the sector average50.00% above the sector average50.00% above the sector average
Income
62.52% below the market average62.52% below the market average62.52% below the market average62.52% below the market average62.52% below the market average
85.71% below the sector average85.71% below the sector average85.71% below the sector average85.71% below the sector average85.71% below the sector average
Growth
22.55% above the market average22.55% above the market average22.55% above the market average22.55% above the market average22.55% above the market average
72.73% above the sector average72.73% above the sector average72.73% above the sector average72.73% above the sector average72.73% above the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 0
Buy 1
Neutral 0
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Colefax Group Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Final Interim
Ex-Div 12-Sep-24 07-Mar-24
Paid 11-Oct-24 11-Apr-24
Amount 2.90p 2.70p

Trades for 10-Dec-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
13:45 136 @ 812.00p
13:37 500 @ 800.00p

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