Swallowfield trading in line, confident about FY prospects

(ShareCast News) - AIM-listed Swallowfield, which develops and supplies personal care and beauty products, said trading in the first four months of the year has been in line with expectations as it expressed confidence in its prospects for the year.The group said it expects to see a small boost to profitability in the first half on the back of recent sterling weakness. In the long term, it plans to self-hedge by broadly balancing dollar and euro sales to international customers with purchases in the same currencies.Swallowfield said the successful delivery of significant new product launches for major brand owners in its manufacturing business will contribute strongly to its performance, particularly in the first half.In addition, it pointed out that further contract wins have been achieved, with both UK and European customers, which will start to contribute from the beginning of its next financial year.Meanwhile, in the branded business, the group said it was pleased with the performance and contribution from Brand Architekts, which was acquired back in June. In particular, volumes of the Christmas gifting ranges are ahead of previous years and Swallowfield reckons these will make a strong contribution to its first half year.Non-executive chairman Brendan Hynes said: "While we remain conscious of the continuing macro uncertainty both in the UK and internationally, we expect to maintain our positive momentum and are confident in the prospects for the year."At 1123 GMT, the shares were up 7.6% to 258.35p.