Reported figures at industrial thread manufacturer Coats (COA) were hit by several exceptional items, including a $5.7m (£4.1m) charge linked to an ongoing investigation into the group's sizeable pension deficit and the $14.1m spent reorganising the business following the sale of EMEA Crafts. Strip out these items, unfavourable currency movements and a $6.4m pollution provision, and operating profit grew 19 per cent in the reported period.
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Driving that success was the apparel and footwear subdivision. This operation, which specialises in zips and trims, posted double-digit sales growth in frontier markets such as Bangladesh, Colombia, Mexico and Vietnam as customers flocked to use the group's newly launched ecommerce platform.