Toy and collectibles specialist Hornby said today that trading was in line in the fourth quarter of its financial year. The British model railway brand is expecting to post its first pre-tax profit since 2012. During the London Olympics of that year, the UK manufacturer suffered poor sales of the exclusive merchandise it had produced specifically for the event. Following heavy discounting on the stock, Hornby swung to a pre-tax loss of £3.9m for the year to the end of March 2013, compared to a £4m profit it made the previous year.
The company also announced that some of its manufacturing for other products would move from China to India, after the Chinese factory that supplied Hornby closed down. Last year it brought in Richard Ames as its newest Chief Executive, in an attempt to turnaround the business.
Hornby should see an increase of 13% for both the UK business and the group as a whole for the full year.
In a statement from Hornby this morning, the brand said:
“The work on the Group‘s reorganisation is continuing and plans are now developed for the next phase that incorporates the rationalisation of the European warehouses and management structures for implementation later this year.
Discussions are also underway with the group‘s main bankers for the renewal of facilities as part of the consideration of funding options for this investment. This work is expected to be completed in time for the release of the results for the year ended 31 March in the middle of June this year.”
