Mallett was hit hard by the recession and while the global art market recovered dramatically in 2010 - notably for impressionist and modern art - demand for 16th and 17th English furniture (Mallett's speciality) has stayed in the doldrums. Sales in both the UK and US dropped sharply and there was also a fall in revenues from selling British sporting pictures and manufacturing contemporary design furniture from antique wood. Only restoration income increased.
However, losses narrowed due to a reduction in staff numbers and a £350,000 cut in admin expenses from £1.68m to £1.32m. An interesting aspect of the latest figures is that a £2.14m deferred tax asset relating to some £6m of tax losses is not being carried forward. As a result there’s a £1.14m tax charge which almost doubles post tax losses - while its removal from the balance sheet largely accounts for the fall in end-December net assets. The next cost hurdle is to find a buyer for Mallett's 20-year lease on its imposing 12,000 sq ft, five floor Bond Street showroom. It's not needed because these days far fewer buyers than ever go to showrooms - but the rent is £1.2m a year.
Expect 2011 trading figures to be close to last year’s results.
| ORD PRICE: | 72.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £10.0m | |
| TOUCH: | 70-75p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 77.5p | LOW: 61p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 109p | NET DEBT: | 4% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 16.6 | 12.67 | 72.8 | 9.2 |
| 2007 | 17.5 | 1.32 | 6.4 | 8.4 |
| 2008 | 12.1 | -5.97 | -31.5 | nil |
| 2009 | 14.0 | -1.77 | -11.9 | nil |
| 2010 | 13.3 | -1.42 | -19.1 | nil |
| % change | -5 | - | - | - |
General Retailers | ||||
