Business

Turnaround strategy at toymaker Hornby on track

Firm has faced shareholder pressure to replace chairman Roger Canham

The Scalextric-to-Airfix firm, best known for its model railways, has embarked on a painful turnaround

Wed Jun 21 2017 - 08:37

Losses at troubled toymaker Hornby narrowed last year as the firm's boss declared his turnaround strategy is on track.

The group reported a pre-tax loss of £9.5 million in the year to March 31st, compared with a £13.5 million loss in 2016.

Revenue fell from £55.8 million to £47.4 million as Hornby scaled back on international brands.

Chief executive Steve Cooke said: "Our results to March 2017 provide solid evidence of our delivery in phase one of our turnaround plan; notably in terms of cash flow performance and gross margin improvement during the year.

READ MORE

“We are determined to build on this progress as we move to the next phase of the turnaround plan.

“The current financial year has started positively and we are well placed to achieve the board’s expectations for the year.”

The Scalextric-to-Airfix firm, best known for its model railways, has embarked on a painful turnaround which has seen it reduce product ranges and cut back on investment as part of plans to shore up the balance sheet.

The firm has also faced shareholder pressure to replace chairman Roger Canham, with the firm’s second biggest investor, New Pistoia, having recently said the company’s current strategy is “ineffective”, “will continue to destroy value” and is “not aligned with creating wealth for all shareholders”.

LATEST STORIES