30 Jun 2010 15:13
Wednesday June 30, 2010
THE QUARTO GROUP, INC - ANNUAL MEETING STATEMENT
"performance running ahead of expectations"
"Quarto's performance in 2010 is running ahead of expectations. Revenues are up, inventory is down, cash generation is stronger than forecast," reported Laurence F Orbach, chairman and chief executive of Quarto, at the company's annual meeting today. "Improved focus of working capital management, and materially lower interest costs underline our robust performance.
"Much of the credit for this is attributable to our strategy and publishing programs, which take advantage of the global reach of Quarto's effective international sales operations, and our rigid determination not to be dependant on the performance of individual best-selling titles. It's the spread of our title offerings, and of our geographical markets, that underpin our success.
"In our major markets, particularly the US and the UK, traditional business remains subdued, while Australasia continues to outperform. Quarto's imprints are not much affected by the fever surrounding e-books, which continue to generate more heat than light. Our new titles continue to be licensed and ordered, and we reprint regularly to meet demand. We have strong lists of new titles, having decided to maintain our investment in new titles during the recession.
"Today's annual meeting approved all the resolutions on the ballot, including the final dividend, which will be mailed to shareholders shortly."
Enquiries:
The Quarto Group, Inc. 020-7700 9004
Laurence Orbach (Chairman and CEO)
Mick Mousley (CFO)
QRT.L (QRT)