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(Sharecast News) - Book trader Scholium said trading had been "severely curtailed" by the onset of Covid-19 but stated that it had responded by successfully increasing online sales activity and cutting costs.
Scholium said it had incurred "a modest loss" in the first six months of the year, compared to the profit of £64,000 seen in the first half of 2019.
The AIM-listed group said on Friday that "significantly higher" online activity had helped Shapero Rare Books achieve "a better level of sales than expected" at the start of the lockdown and had helped it turn "a small profit" for the period.
Scholium highlighted that the cancellation of book and other trade fairs had helped to reduce costs, but resulted in there being no sales for Scholium Trading, while Mayfair Philatelics had to postpone its September auction to November and posted a small loss for the first half.
Looking forward, Scholium said the cancellation of international trade fairs had also stimulated a significant increase in online auctions and activity in both rare books and works of art, presenting the firm with both buying and selling opportunities.
Chairman Jasper Allen said: "We are pleased that Shapero Rare Books has traded profitably and that therefore the Group has performed at a better level than the board's expectations in the first half of this financial year.
"We remain focussed on maximising sales through the channels still available to us and reducing costs where possible."
As of 1055 BST, Scholium shares were flat at 32.50p.
1 Jul 2014 10:03