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(Alliance News) - Toilet roll maker Accrol Group Holdings PLC said Tuesday its annual loss narrowed sharply despite lower revenue as its turnaround progressed, and it moved away from low-margin contracts.
Shares in Accrol were 5.4% higher at 26.88 pence in London on Tuesday.
For the year ended April, pretax loss improved to GBP14.0 million from GBP24.1 million the year prior. This was despite revenue falling 15% to GBP119.1 million from GBP139.7 million the year before.
Profit performance was helped by a steep fall in distribution and administration costs, including non-recurring turnaround costs falling 39% to GBP7.9 million from GBP12.9 million the year prior. Revenue, meanwhile, was hurt by a move away from lower margin contracts.
"The heavy lifting of the turnaround is now behind us and the ongoing challenge of maintaining consistent delivery of low cost, quality product to our customers remains," Chief Executive Officer Gareth Jenkins said. "We are now able to instil continuous improvement disciplines into an operation that is fit for purpose."
Accrol did not propose a final dividend, in line with the year prior. The firm intends to return a dividend at the "earliest appropriate opportunity", however, Executive Chair Dan Wright said.
"As the new financial year progresses, we will continue to be innovative in our approach to winning new business and take steps to bring our low cost, high service brand-killer approach to different products and markets," Jenkins added.
"We keep a watchful eye on the strength of the pound and will take the steps necessary to mitigate the risks of continued currency weakness, but that should not distract us from profitably meeting our customers' needs," Jenkins continued. "The business has now been reset. There is a huge opportunity for the group in the rapidly growing personal hygiene value market and, whilst there is more to do, the board has real confidence that the foundations have been laid for a successful future."
