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LONDON (Alliance News) - Rare books company Scholium Group PLC on Friday reported mixed trading in its rare books and trading divisions, with the former suffering amid challenging market conditions but the trading arm having been profitable in the past year.
Scholium said its Scholium Rare Books business, in line with other dealers in the collectible and antique goods space, has experienced a challenging year, primarily due to lower sales of high value items, in particular to Russian and Eastern European customers.
Scholium Modern, its modern and contemporary prints business, has performed well since launch in mid-2014 and now represents 5% of group revenue, it said.
In its Scholium Trading business, the group has seen a profitable performance and said the unit now represents 12% of group revenue. Gross margins in the business are around 13%, and stock turnover has been higher than anticipated.
Scholium expects to post a pretax loss of GBP0.5 million for the year to the end of March, though it said its balance sheet remains healthy.
"It is disappointing that buying activity in the traditional customer base of Shapero Rare Books has suffered in the last 12 months and impacted our performance. None the less, the board remains confident that a more normal level of activity will return to the business in the medium term and is actively seeking new opportunities where it has the expertise and capital, whilst conserving cash," said Scholium Chairman Jasper Allen.
Scholium shares were down 14% in early trade to 37.08 pence, one of the worst performers in the AIM All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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