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LONDON (Alliance News) - Character Group PLC on Friday said its performance remains in line with expectations in its current financial year, helped by high demand from customers for its branded toys.
The stock was trading 3.4% higher early on Friday at 539.90 pence a share.
Ahead of its annual general meeting, the AIM-listed toymaker said the positive momentum experienced at the end of financial 2018 continued into the first half of its financial 2019, ending on January 31.
Despite challenging market conditions, Character said its products maintained their popularity through the Christmas period, with demand for them continuing.
The company said its international sales, excluding the US, remained steady, whilst sales in the US continued to be challenging, but it expects improvement in the second half.
Character said it continued to grow its diverse portfolio and is currently in the process of rolling out a range of new products and range extensions, expected to be unveiled at the London toy fair next week.
Character is a designer, developer and distributor of toys, games and giftware. Its portfolio includes Pokemon, Peppa Pig and Little Pony toy collections, with the newer collections offering Soft 'n Slo Squishies, Mashems and Treasure X.
Trading at OVG-PROXY, the Danish toy distributor, in which Character acquired a 55% interest in October last year, is benefiting from a substantial increase in product ranges available to it for distribution in the Nordic countries since the acquisition.
"Macroeconomic factors, including currency volatility, the potential implications of Brexit and the performance of the UK economy generally, will continue to influence market behaviour in the coming months and our business is not immune from these factors," Character highlighted in the statement Friday.
"Notwithstanding this, the board remains confident in its strategy and the group's flexibility to adapt to change and will continue to strive to grow the business, while facing any challenges as and when they arise," Character added.
Character intends to publish its interim results in May.