UK branded sofa group Sofa Brands International grew annual sales by 5.6% to £79.8m in the 12 months to 30th June 2014. The group’s mid-market-focused brands of G Plan and Parker Knoll further strengthened their influence and product offer in their targeted UK channels, while the new Domus range helped Duresta maintain its position in the UK luxury market.
Sofa Brands reports a group profit before interest and tax, excluding share-based payments level, of £5.7m. Positive cash flow of £2.1m increased net cash to £3.1m, leaving shareholders’ funds "healthy" at £18.5m.
Commenting on the results, Scott Malvenan, CEO of Sofa Brands International, says:“The group remains on course to deliver the substantial improvement in sales and operating performance that we set out to achieve from spring 2014 onwards. Operating costs rose in the second half of the year as we built capacity in anticipation of the growth in sales we enjoyed in the first half of 2014/15.
"Sales in our mid-market brands, G Plan and Parker Knoll, continued to grow, and the transformation of Parker Knoll and its increasing contribution to group performance is particularly pleasing. Duresta’s sales fell by 1%, reflecting slightly lower export activity which resulted in a small underlying reduction in profit.
"Once again, we have set ourselves tough targets for the year ahead, reflecting the board’s confidence that demand for our brands will continue to increase, as we invest in our people, products, systems and operational environments. The UK retail scene remains unpredictable and some of Duresta’s historically strong export markets (eg Russia, China) are facing instability, but we will continue to create our own momentum for growth to raise group performance.
"The management team were delighted in the vote of confidence shown in the group, resulting in the acquisition lead by Promethean Investments in January 2015. This will provide exciting new horizons for each of our brands to pursue in due course.”
