Warpaint London PLC (AIM:W7L) saw its shares gain over 3% on Wednesday morning after the cosmetics company reported record sales and a surge in profits for 2022.
Sales jumped to £64.1mln in the 12 months to 31 December 2022 from £50mln the year before, while underlying profit (EBITDA) shot up 56% to £11.7mln.
Gross margins increased to 36.4% from 33.8%, despite cost inflation, the company noted.
It said 2023 has started strongly, with first-quarter sales rising 40% to a record £18.5mln and with margins stronger than in full-year 2022.
The final dividend was raised to 4.5p from 3.5p, taking the total payout to 7.1p compared with 6p.
Chairman Clive Garston attributed the strong performance to the strategy of “increasing our presence in larger retailers in all our major markets, both through growing sales to existing customers and entering into new relationships”.
Also, the group is focussed on growing its online presence, he added.
“I am optimistic that the strong performance we have seen in 2022 and into 2023 will continue and that we have the right offering and strategy in place to continue to deliver profitable future growth, despite the backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty," Garston said.
The company has £8.6mln in the bank and no debt.
Shares were 3.32% higher at 202.50p at 10.15am.