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[April 2008]
Qualceram Shires Prelims for 2007
Qualceram Shires plc has announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2007.
Turnover was €90 million, down from €102 million in 2006 and gross margin was down from 32.3% to 30.5%. Operating profit was €6.2 million, while profit before exceptional items was €1.1 million, down from €4.1 million in 2006. Earnings per share dropped from 15.72c to 6.14c.
Commenting on the results, John O’Loughlin, Chief Executive of Qualceram Shires plc, said: “The financial year under review presented the Group with a volatile and uncertain property market which was primarily responsible for a lower than expected financial performance. However, the recent disposal of the Arklow property (in the same volatile and uncertain property market), for €30.025 million represented very good value for the Group’s shareholders.
“The disposal has further strengthened the balance sheet, and combined with management’s continuing efforts to improve the cost base (annualised cost savings introduced since the start of 2008, and accrued for in 2007, amount to €3 million), we are confident that the Group will weather the current downturn and emerge as a stronger Group, positioned for growth.”
Qualceram Shires is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of a wide range of bathroom suites through five principal brands, namely Qualceram, Shires, Shaws of Darwen, Selecta and Trent. The Qualceram brand offers a diverse and comprehensive range of traditional and contemporary bathroom products. Shires has been one of the leading brands in the UK and Ireland for over half a century. The group’s Selecta brand is regarded for its range of showering products.
Established in 1897, Shaws of Darwen produces a unique product set of handmade fireclay sinks and, over 100 years old, the Trent brand maintains bathroom suite designs of every era, from early Victorian times through to today.
With leading market positions in Ireland and the UK, coupled with increasing access to other international markets, the group says its strategy is to increase market share in the luxury end of the bathroom products sector by offering a complete package of branded products, supported by superior customer service.
www.qualceram-shires.com
ENDS