Telegraph e-paper

Hornby shares hit the buffers after warning of £6m loss

By Alan Tovey

SHARES in modelmaker Hornby fell more than 60pc after it warned of big writedowns and a post-Christmas sales collapse that will result in annual revenues falling and losses widening.

The company expects to report an underlying pre-tax loss of between £5.5m and £6m for the year, with sales falling up to £3m, mainly due to poor trading in the UK.

The loss represents a huge reversal compared to last year’s £1.6m profit, and a major fall on annual sales, which were £58.1m in 2014, as the company battled operational issues, having gone off the rails the previous year with a £1.1bn loss. The troubled business – famed for its model railways and Airfix planes – said a restructuring of its supply chain and logistics also held back performance.

In a trading update, the Aim-listed firm said UK sales were strong in the run-up to Christmas, rising 17pc, but there had been “a disappointing response to January product promotions combined with poor underlying sales”.

The company, which also owns Corgi and Scalextric, expects February and March sales to improve but not to “previously anticipated levels”.

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2016-02-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

2016-02-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

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Daily Telegraph