LONDON (Alliance News) - Fine art and collectibles trading company Scholium Group PLC saw its shares surge at the open on Thursday after it said improved revenue in the first half will see it return to profit.
Scholium posted a widened pretax loss and slashed its dividend for the year to the end of March, as it was hit by a volatile trading environment for its Shapero Rare Books business. That business has continued to reposition its stock and trade into areas which are attractive to the contemporary collector and less effected by political and market turmoil.
Though trading can still be variable for the business, Scholium said it it starting to see better results for Shapero, particularly for modern and contemporary prints which have provided a valuable new revenue stream.
Elsewhere, the company said its Scholium Trading business has entered into a number of transactions with other dealers, primarily in the rare book market, with the return on capital employed "very encouraging".
As a result of the improved trading, the company expects to return to profit in the first half thanks to much better revenue year-on-year. It will publish its interim results to the end of September in early December.
Scholium shares were up 65% to 47.00 pence just after the open, the best performer in the AIM All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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Scholium Group (SCHO)