Shares of Blackburn-based toilet roll and tissue maker Accrol Group fell about 7% on Tuesday after it published results for the six months ended October 31, 2020, showing revenue slipped 4.3% to £62.3 million.
“This was a result of the short-term change in consumer shopping habits, driven by panic buying in March and April 2020 in the first national lockdown,” said Accrol.
Accrol narrowed its interim pretax loss to £503,000 from £3 million a year earlier.
“Margins are continuing to improve, and further improvements are expected, generating increasingly strong cash flows and reducing net debt at a faster rate than anticipated,” said Accrol.
“The integration of Leicester Tissue Company (LTC), acquired in November 2020 for a total maximum consideration of £41.8m, is progressing better than expected and the board looks forward to providing more details on the positive impact of the acquisition on the group as the year progresses.
“With margins continuing to improve, LTC contributing positively and the business continuing to deliver strong organic growth, the board is confident that the group is fully on track to deliver a strong H2 performance and results for FY21 will be at least in line with market expectations.
“As a result, the board is delighted to announce its intention to restore dividend payments earlier than it anticipated and expects to propose a final dividend of no less than 0.5p per ordinary share for the year ending 30 April 2021 (FY21).
“Net debt (pre IFRS 16) 30 April 2021 is expected to be below consensus market forecasts (currently £12.2m), even after the intended dividend payment.”