(Alliance News) - 4imprint Group PLC on Friday reported encouraging trading progress in the past four weeks, with its apparel category in particular performing well compared to others.
The FTSE 250-listed marketer of promotional merchandise said for the recent period, its average weekly order intake has run at just above 60% of prior year levels. Meanwhile the average order values have continued to run higher than historical levels, leading to average weekly revenue over the same period reaching 65% of the prior year. This is up from the 50% rate achieved by the time of 4imprint's half-year results in August and a low of 20% in April.
In the apparel category, decorated apparel unit volume at the Oshkosh Distribution Centre in Wisconsin, US is running close to the prior-year level. As a result, the utilisation of permanent labour capacity has returned to 100%, 4imprint said.
In addition, London-based 4imprint said it has continued to acquire new customers at a "promising rate", driven by the reallocation of funds towards the company's brand marketing programme.
"Although we have seen encouraging signs in recent weeks, the inherent uncertainty resulting from the Covid-19 situation means that it is too early to provide any forward guidance at this point. We do, however, remain very confident in the group's strategy, business model, competitive positioning and ultimately our ability to deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders," the company said.
Shares in 4imprint were down 4.0% at 2,040.00 pence on Friday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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4Imprint (FOUR)