Hornby PLC on Wednesday said it remains optimistic for the festive season despite a weak performance in the first half. Hornby is a model railway maker and retailer based in Margate, England. Pretax loss widened to £5.1 million for the six months ended September 30, down from £4.9 million a year before. Revenue rose by 10% to £25.0 million for the same period, up from £22.7 million a year prior. Hornby attributed this discrepancy to rising costs across the firm, despite an improved sales performance. Finance costs rose by 39% to £1.0 million from £719,000 a year prior. Admin costs rose by 2.7% to £3.8 million for the half, up from £3.7 million a year before. Hornby did not declare an interim dividend, unchanged year-on-year. Hornby shares were down 19% at 21.00 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon. Looking ahead, Hornby remained optimistic, pointing to a strong order book and activities in place for the run-up to Black Friday and the festive period. Chief Executive Olly Raeburn commented: ‘Revenue performance versus last year has been solid, and we exit the half year with a clear, and aggressive, plan for maintaining that momentum through the critical Black Friday and Christmas trading periods.’ Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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