Churchill China PLC (LON:CHH) saw its full-year profits shattered as sales were affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and the consequent restrictions on hospitality markets worldwide.
The ceramics maker posted a pre-tax profit before exceptional items of £848,000 for 2020, down 92% from the previous year, as revenue slumped 46% to £36.4mln.
“Despite our core hospitality markets being amongst the most affected by COVID, we remained profitable across the year, maintained a strong financial position and continued to invest in and develop our business for the longer term,” said chairman Alan McWalter.
Excluding a one-off charge of £757,000, the company managed to scrape in a statutory profit of £91,000.
“Short term trading has remained affected by the pandemic and related government restrictions across our main markets,” McWalter said.
The company, which began the year with £15.6mln of cash and deposits and retained £14.0mln at the end of the period, said it was not “currently appropriate” to declare a final dividend for 2020.
“While our financial position continues to be robust, the level of certainty attributable to the expected recovery in our markets has not yet reached a position which would support the re-commencement of distributions,” McWalter said.
The ceramics company will review its dividend policy once a clearer pattern of trading has emerged during the first half of 2021.
“Despite the level of government restrictions on worldwide hospitality markets in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, there is now growing evidence from enquiries, order levels and sales that activity levels are recovering across our markets,” added McWalter.