Sprue Aegis (AIM:SPRP) – trading significantly ahead
The leading provider of home safety products (principally smoke alarms and CO alarms) issued a positive trading update ahead of its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015 offering a material boost to the share price.
The Board now expects sales for the first half of 2015 to be approximately £56.5m, being more than double the comparable period in 2014, and operating profit (before share-based payments charge) of approximately £9.0m (H1 2014: £2.7m). Exchange rate conversion against the Euro and Us Dollar resulted in gross margins (before the BRK distribution fee) declining to approx. 29.0% from 37.4% in the comparable period in 2014. At first half 2014 like-for-like exchange rates, the first half 2015 operating profit reported above would have been approximately £15.1m, or a material £6.1m / 68% higher than indicated and return on sales…