McBride expects 10-15% loss in profits

European manufacturer and supplier of household products, McBride, announced its half-year results for the six months ending 31 December 2018, revealing an expected 10-15% loss in profits prior to taxes.

During the period, the Group successfully completed the sale of the European Personal Care (PC) Liquids business following the disposal of its skincare business in the Czech Republic the previous year.

In January, World Aerosols reported that McBride announced increased sales despite the closing of its Hull aerosol factory, leading to a loss of 100 jobs.

"As announced on 20 February, the Group continues to see pressure on its cost base. We continue to expect the overall raw material pricing outlook to show improvements in the second half, but not to the extent anticipated in early January,” said Rik De Vos, McBridge CEO said.

“In addition, distribution costs continue to rise beyond our previous estimates due to market rates and efficiency challenges driven by logistics capacity shortfalls and internal service gaps. Accordingly, although the Group continues to anticipate further good sales growth in the second half year, the Board now expects full year adjusted profits before tax to be approximately 10% to 15% lower than the prior financial year.

“The Group made significant strategic progress in the period, delivering strong growth in revenues whilst completing the European PC Liquids sale and the integration of Danlind onto the McBride IT systems. In order to seek to mitigate the effect of rising costs, the business has been implementing price increases and continues with further supply chain efficiency measures and overhead rationalisation actions to counter continuing cost inflation. Given McBride's market leadership, sound financial position and continued growth prospects, the Group remains well placed in the current difficult trading environment to make further progress against its strategic ambitions.”