Macfarlane Group shares slip after profits improve

(Sharecast News) - Macfarlane Group shares were down on Thursday morning, after it reported another year of "significant growth" in its 2018 annual results, with sales up 11% to £217.3m.The London-listed labelling and packaging firm said its profit before tax and exceptional items of wah ahead 20% in the year ended 31 December, at £11.2m.It said its trading performance continued the positive trends of recent years, and was in line with market expectations.Reported profit before tax rose 17% to £10.9m, with the board proposing a full-year dividend of 2.3p, an increase of 10%."The increase in profits in 2018 represents the ninth consecutive year of profit growth for Macfarlane Group," said chairman Stuart Paterson."2019 has started well and our profitability in the year to date is ahead of the same period in 2018."Paterson said its strategy continued to focus on the delivery of sustainable profit growth, by concentrating on added value products and services in our target market sectors, combined with efficiency improvements and the identification and completion of value-enhancing acquisitions."This strategy, which is continuously refined, has served all stakeholders well in recent years and we remain confident that it will continue to do so."Macfarlane Group's performance in 2018 reflects the successful implementation of this strategy and despite the ongoing uncertainties surrounding Brexit and the difficulties being experienced in the retail sector, we are confident that the group will demonstrate further progress in 2019."As at 1019 GMT, shares in MacFarlane Group were down 0.43% at 92.6p.