Jourdan cuts its losses in half

THOMAS JOURDAN, the furniture and Corby trouser press maker, halved its interim losses to pounds 465,000 for the six months to 30 June, on virtually static group turnover of pounds 9m, writes Neil Thapar.

The result reflected the benefits of a restructuring programme begun almost three years ago. It was also helped by a strong first-quarter performance and the successful launch of new products, including a tie presser bearing the Corby label.

'While the second quarter was not as good as the first, it was still satisfactory and July showed a strong order intake across the group,' Keith Whitten, chairman, said. The company believed that Britain's economic recovery was 'patchy and fragile', though it expected to trade profitably at current levels of activity.

'Our belief that the group will perform satisfactorily in the remainder of the year is not dependent on any dramatic upturn in consumer demand because we do not expect one,' Mr Whitten said.

The company incurred pounds 67,000 in exceptional restructuring costs from discontinued operations, against pounds 290,000. The operating deficit from ongoing businesses fell from pounds 442,000 to pounds 276,000. Interest charges were reduced from pounds 157,000 to pounds 122,000, but group borrowings as a proportion of net assets were unchanged at 45 per cent.

The interim dividend has been maintained at 0.5p. The loss per share amounted to 2.59p against 4.86p. The shares rose 1p to 33p yesterday.