Toy designer, Character Group (LON:CCT) posted a first half pre-tax profit of £3.73m compared with a loss of £3.84m last time. Group sales for the six months to the end of February rose 14.1% to £43.1m.
The Character Group plc designs, develops and distributes toys, games and giftware, principally to the UK although it has an increasing exposure to international markets. Revenues are generated from a mix of product with over 50% designed and developed in-house either under the Group's own brand or under licence with the balance being derived from third party distribution.
The firm said there was exceptional on-going consumer demand continues for key product lines- ZhuZhu Pets (formerly GoGo Pets), and Kung Zhu to be released shortly. HM Armed Forces, Peppa Pig, Scooby Doo and the new Doctor Who range are all expected to realise gross revenues of around £10m per brand in this calendar year and Postman Pat, Fireman Sam and Let's Cook are expected to realise around £5m per brand.
Chairman Richard King said:
"We are pleased to report that our strategy of developing our own-branded toy ranges and selectively distributing third-party product lines has finally matured to where we have achieved a significant turnaround for the business... The underlying strength of our portfolio and the enthusiasm for our products by our customers has resulted in increased demand.
"This very positive progress is reflected in our March results which exceeded internal management forecasts in terms of revenue and profitability giving us a good start to the second half of this financial year."
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