REG - IG Design Group PLC - Trading Update

IG DesignAnnouncement

25/10/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20231025:nRSY1726Ra&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 1726R  IG Design Group PLC  25 October 2023

Embargoed until 25 October 2023

IG Design Group Plc

('Design Group' or the 'Group')

Trading Update for the 6 months ended 30 September 2023

Significant growth in profit and margin alongside strong cash flow

Full year results expected to be in line with expectations

IG Design Group plc, one of the world's leading designers, innovators and
manufacturers of Gift Packaging, Celebrations, Craft & Creative Play,
Stationery, Gifting and related product categories provides a Trading Update
ahead of the announcement of its results for the six months ended 30 September
2023 ('the period').

 

The Group has continued to make good progress on its journey of improving
operational efficiency and simplifying the business. These initiatives have
resulted in significant growth in profit and margin for the period compared to
the same period last year. In addition, net debt is significantly lower than a
year ago, reflecting strong cash flow.  Both measures are notably ahead of
management's expectations for the period.

 

The Group has seen a return toward normal ordering seasonality following the
disruption to international supply chains in recent years, meaning that some
sales have returned to being in the second half of the financial year rather
than the first.  Alongside this, the Group has seen lower consumer demand for
Everyday products in some markets and reduced order quantities guided by lower
customer expectations of the forthcoming Christmas season. Consequently, the
Group delivered lower sales versus the same period last year. The reduction in
the DG Americas division has been partially offset by sales growth in DG
International, particularly in continental Europe.

 

Despite lower sales in the period, DG Americas continues to benefit from the
various strategic initiatives undertaken since the start of 2022. These
initiatives have more than offset the effect of lower sales, such that
absolute profit and margins have improved during the period.

 

The Board believes the trading results for the full year to 31 March 2024
remain in line with the Board's expectations for the year. This represents a
strong year-on-year improvement in profit and cash flow compared to the prior
financial year, albeit sales will be lower for the reasons given.  It
demonstrates continued delivery of the Board's aspiration to return the Group
to pre-pandemic operating margins by the end of FY2025.

 

Further details on the performance over the period, along with the outlook for
the period ahead, will be set out with the Company's interim results which
will be published on 28 November 2023.

 

Results Presentation

 

Management will be hosting a webinar for analysts on Tuesday 28th November
2023 at 10.45am. If you would like to register, please contact designgroup@al
(mailto:designgroup@almastrategic.com) mastrategic.com
(mailto:designgroup@almastrategic.com)

In addition, management will be hosting a webinar for retail investors on
Tuesday 28th November 2023 at 13.30. Investors can register for the webinar
via https://bit.ly/IGR_H1_2024_webinar (https://bit.ly/IGR_H1_2024_webinar)

For further information, please contact:

 IG Design Group Plc                           Tel: +44 (0)1525 887310

 Paul Bal, Chief Executive Officer

 Rohan Cummings, Chief Financial Officer
 Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nomad and Broker)  Tel:  +44 (0)20 7523 8000

 Bobbie Hilliam, NOMAD

 Alex Orr
 Alma Strategic Communications                 Tel:  +44 (0)20 3405 0205

 Rebecca Sanders-Hewett                        designgroup@almastrategic.com

 Sam Modlin

 Josh Royston

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as amended by regulation 11 of the
Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication
of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public
domain.

 

 

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTFLFSTIELSFIV