Expansys back in black

After a year of transition and change, global online consumer electronics retailer Expansys moved into the black at the full-year stage.Underlying profit before tax, which strips out one-off and other non-cash items, was £3.4m in the year to 30 April, versus a loss the year before of £0.2m.On an "as reported" basis, the company stayed in the red with a £0.7m loss, bt this was £2m lower than the year before. Turnover increased by more than 60%to £81.8m from £50.7m, helped by the company's two recent acquisitions. With these excluded, the company still achieved like-for-like sales growth of more than 30%.Anthony Catterson, Chief Executive Officer of Expansys, said: "After a transitional 12 months and challenging trading conditions in our core retail business, Expansys emerges with improved performance and a strong strategic platform for growth and continued success." The company ended the financial year with cash of £5.1m, up significantly from last year's £0.9m. The company's Chairman, Bob Wigley, said that while Expansys's acquisitions have been successfully integrated and its core online business much improved operationally under Anthony Catterson's leadership, he was disappointed by the group's overall performance relative to early expectations. Despite this, Catterson remains confident about the outlook of the company, saying: "After a transitional year and challenging trading conditions the group emerges with improved year on year performance and a strong strategic platform for growth. We have clearly identified our opportunities and remain focussed upon efficiencies in all areas."This company has not declared a dividend. The company's share price shot up 0.3p (26.22%) to 1.43p after the results.NR Xps Pensions