LONDON (Alliance News) - Sports and Leisure equipment company Tandem Group PLC said Thursday that its pretax profit for the full-year ended December 31 will be "substantially behind" the previous year, after the firm was hit by restructuring costs, pension scheme finance charges and adverse foreign exchange movements.
Tandem said that it expects revenue slightly behind last year at GBP28.3 million, although it noted it had seen a strong second-half, with revenues 17% ahead of the previous year.
The company's Bicycle & Accessories business was around 10% below the previous year with revenues of GBP15 million, hit by poor weather. Although its Dawes division recovered in the second half, it saw a "disappointing" performance from its Claud Butler and corporate bicycles divisions.
Tandem noted various changes at Claud Butler, the managing director was made redundant in October, and the management team is now overseen directly by Chief Executive Officer Claud Butler. Additional administrative and accounting functions are being centralised, and the business moved to offices in Scunthorpe to reduce overhead and improve operation efficiency.
However, Tandem said that its sports, leisure and toys business had performed ahead of expectation, with revenue of around GBP13 million, boosted by strong performances from its 'One Direction,' 'Peppa Pig,' and 'Batman' brands.
Tandem said it remained optimistic that it will increase profitability in 2014, and said that he'd seen revenue ahead of the prior year at the beginning of 2014.
Shares in Tandem were trading up 4.9% at 80.80 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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Tandem Group (TND)