115 Jul 2008 18:15
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Ross Group Plc. said its pretax loss widened to 1.08 million pounds in the year to Dec. 31, 2007 from a loss of 915,000 pounds the previous year, partly due to its loss-making UK operating subsidiary GEL Engineering Ltd., which went into administration on April 23.
Its other UK operating subsidiary, which distributes consumer electronic products through Sansui (UK) Ltd. had to focus on Barbie branded products in Europe and the UK, such as boom box and radios, as the oversupply of other goods, particularly flat panel LCD televisions, was driving prices and margins down, Ross Group said.
Revenues rose to 1.70 million pounds from 1.15 million, due to additional activity in both the engineering sector and consumer electronics division.
The group is not paying a dividend.
Ross Group said finance costs increased to 521,000 pounds last year from 383,000 pounds the previous year.
Ross Group said it is currently researching a number of new activities to increase revenues and profitability.