Shares in International Greetings (IGR) rallied as the gift packaging and Christmas cracker company reported positive full-year results, and the future's looking bright too.
The company successfully completed a major upgrade of its gift wrap manufacturing facilities in Wales - on time and on budget - the benefits of which will start to feed through this year. It also made a small acquisition, snapping up European gift wrap maker Enper for €1.9m (£1.5m). Revenues for the year fell slightly, but that was largely down to currency headwinds and weaker sales growth in the UK, where the group exited a non-core business. Pre-tax profit, adjusted for exceptional items, grew 4 per cent to £7.6m as profit doubled in Europe. Net debt fell faster than expected too, edging the company closer to returning to the dividend list.
