Hornby PLC (LON:HRN) said its sales and profit margins have both been higher than last year and ahead of management’s expectations for the past five months.
The model train maker and owner of the Airfix, Meccano and Scalextric brands reported that its operations are “nearly back to normal” and it has made “good progress” against its strategic turnaround plan.
Earlier in the year the company said it would invest more in digital marketing and build a scalable central platform for future growth.
Having celebrated its 100-year anniversary this summer, the company is long enough in the tooth to remind investors that “the outcome for the full year is subject to the sales rate over the key Christmas trading period and there is the potential for disruption depending on the arrangements for leaving the EU".
The shares rose 2.5% to 34.32p in early trade on Wednesday, where they are still down 8% since the start of the year but up 29% over the past 12 months.