LONDON (Alliance News) - Park Group PLC on Tuesday said it will report results broadly in line with expectations in its recently-ended financial year, as it revealed the appointment of Laura Carstensen as the company's new non-executive chairman.
The gift voucher and prepaid gift card provider said the good performance it achieved in the first half of the year ended March 31 continued into the second half, with encouraging trading across all operations in the months leading up to the key Christmas period.
The consumer business had a successful festive season, contributing to full-year sales growth of 7% year-on-year. Early orders for Christmas 2016 are ahead of the equivalent period last year, Park Group said.
The corporate business, however, continued to experience reduced sales in the consumer credit sector, leading to an expected full-year sales decline of GBP16 million in that sector. Increased sales in the other sectors as well as a GBP14 million increase in corporate billings, mean that total billings for the corporate business as a whole are expected to be around GBP2 million lower year-on-year, Park Group said.
"Park's financial position remains solid, with cash balances well ahead of last year, and the board expects to report results broadly in line with market expectations. Early indications for 2016/17 from both our Consumer and Corporate businesses are encouraging and give us confidence that it will be another year of progress," Park Group said in a statement.
Separately, Park Group announced that it has appointed Laura Carstensen as the new non-executive chairman, following the resignation of Peter Johnson on June 3.
Carstensen has been a non-executive director at the company since 2013. She is a former partner at commercial law firm Slaughter and May.
"The appointment of Laura as non-executive chairman is excellent for Park. She has extensive City and PLC experience in financial services, as well as a strong background in corporate governance and, having been with us for some time now, has a thorough understanding of our business. We look forward to a seamless transition and working with her as Park continues to evolve and grow," Chief Executive Chris Houghton said.
Shares in Park Group were trading down 0.5% at 74.50 pence on Tuesday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews
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