AIM-listed kettle manufacturer Strix Group (LON:KETL) saw its share price rise by 3.59% to 190.60p (as of 15:15 BST) after it reported a resilient performance during the six months ended 30th June. First-half sales were down by 21% due to lockdowns, but the company said that it had a strong order book for July and August and remained on track to launch 14 new products this year. Management said that they had started to see a solid recovery and believe the company to be well positioned to benefit as this continues during the rest of 2020.
CEO Mark Bartlett commented: “Strix has delivered a resilient performance in the first half which is testament to the robustness of the business. It has now started to see signs of a marked recovery with a solid performance in June and visibility of a strong order book for July and August as lockdown conditions have begun to ease globally. This makes us cautiously optimistic about the demand for our products in the second half and is consistent with improving global macro-economic forecast trends.
“During this period, we have successfully implemented a range of efficiency measures and strategic initiatives to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the full year profit forecast which we now expect to be in line with the previous financial year assuming no significant increase in further lockdown restrictions being imposed. This has been done whilst continuing to invest in compelling growth opportunities and we remain on track to deliver 14 new products this year, as well as the new manufacturing operations in China becoming fully operational in August 2021. This will ensure that Strix emerges from this crisis well-positioned to capitalise on a market recovery and an anticipated acceleration in demand“.