Hornby losses narrow as it scales back discounting
Model train set maker Hornby posted a narrowing of its interim losses on Thursday, with revenue up as it cut back on discounting.
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In the six months to the end of September, statutory pre-tax losses narrowed to £2.5m from £3.2m the year before as revenue increased 15% to £15.9m. The gross margin improved to 41% from 39% as the Scalextrics maker put the brakes on discounting.
Third party revenue for the UK business was up 4% during the half, while revenue from the international segment was up 63%.
Hornby said that "pulling the handbrake on discounting" had been "much more painful" than expected and that it was "good to be through the worst of it".
The company said it would invest in its digital platform to make sure it is generating demand for its products. This includes engagement with its customers through social media.
"As it currently stands, our digital shopfront has a lot of dusty old faded boxes in the window, a few cobwebs, can only handle a small amount of custom and has very little information or attractive merchandising," it said. "This is not a criticism of our current staff. It is a matter of resources and technical expertise. It needs a complete refurbishment."
Heading into the key Christmas trading period, Hornby said sales continue to be above last year, "but the last few years of general retail data shows that customers are leaving gift buying later and later each year as delivery companies and online retailers improve their services".
"I don't have a crystal ball but what I can promise shareholders is that we will hurry towards profitability as quickly as we can," said chief executive Lyndon Davies.
"Revenue is growing, losses are narrowing and we are shifting gears in our journey back to profitability and beyond."
At 0945 GMT, the shares were up 1.5% at 33p.