Creightons PLC (LSE:CRL) swung back into profit in the first half of the year, despite a drop in sales, as actions to lower costs and boost margins bore fruit.
The manufacturer of skincare, haircare and wellbeing products said sales in the six months to 30 September 2023 fell to £27.6 million from £29.7 million the year before.
The Private label division saw an increase in sales of 9.8% to £12.3 million but the Contract division saw a decline of 37.1% to £4.9 million.
The company said it responded “proactively” to unprecedented challenges facing the business due to supply chain constraints, higher commodity, and energy prices with measures to restore profitability, reduce costs and inventory and to return to positive cash flow.
The firm reported a pre-tax profit of £302,000 compared to a loss of £359,000 the year before, diluted EPS of 0.37p (LPS 0.48p) and improved gross profit margin of 42.2%, up from 40.4%.
Creightons said the Branded division has been challenged in the current year but it anticipates this will start to recover during the second half as orders are starting to flow through again.
The firm said “the margin recovery and pro-active cost reduction measures we have taken will continue to deliver an improved performance in the second half of the year”.
No dividend was paid.