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Portmeirion surprises with Asia rebound

The group had been relying on holiday sales to boost second-half trading
January 17, 2019

As Christmas trading figures show a mixed set of results among the UK retailers, homewares and crockery supplier Portmeirion (PMP) has placed itself among the winners.

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The group announced trading ahead of market expectations for the year to December, and said profits would be better than analysts’ previous forecasts. The news prompted a 6 per cent rise in the share price. Brokerage Panmure Gordon increased its pre-tax profit forecast for 2018 to £9.6m, from £9.4m previously.

Management attributed the improved performance to strong growth across its key markets, including the UK, the US and South Korea. While the UK performance is notable, growth in South Korea indicates the issues the group has faced in Asia are easing off, as management predicted at the end of the first half