Working for the rich and famous can be lumpy business for interior decorator and fabric designer Colefax (CFX). Half-year pre-tax profit surged 72 per cent to £3.1m after the company finally booked profits on delayed contracts. But the core fabric division beat expectations, too, and Colefax generates so much cash that another tender offer at 400p will buy up £4.4m of shares, or 9 per cent of the total.
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Colefax's fortunes are tied to the US housing market, and it is rightly bullish about prospects. Of course, the strong pound is a real headwind, but the UK is doing better, offsetting weakness in France. Broker Peel Hunt has upgraded EPS forecasts for this year and next by 11 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.
