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LONDON (Alliance News) - Toy designer and distributor Character Group PLC said Friday its expects its full-year results to "comfortably reach" market expectations after a good second half of the year.
For the year ended August, a "very solid" performance was delivered by the firm as it continued to make "good progress in meeting the demands of our customers and the consumer".
Character explained it had returned to its "previous growth pattern" in the second half of the year, as expected. Its UK domestic business, in particular, saw sales hit record highs.
Its established leading brands, distributed lines and new ranges all sold "extremely well". Its new impulse-purchase "craze" lines - including Soft 'n Slo Squishies, Cakepop Cuties and Cra.Z.Slimy - all added successful supplements to its "strong" portfolio.
"We continue to witness positive listings and strong demand from our customers for our core ranges and new introductions," Character Joint Managing Directors Jon Diver and Kiran Shah said. "As a business, we feel confident of the prospects for the autumn-winter trading period, which includes the all-important Christmas season. This, we believe, will provide a solid foundation for the financial year ending August 2019."
Diver and Shah added the firm "remains confident" in its "ability to grow the business profitably and expand its presence both domestically and internationally in the years to come."
Shares in Character were 7.8% higher at 539.00 pence on Friday.