Colefax Grp. Share News (CFX)

Colefax, maker of luxury furnishing fabrics and wallpapers, halved its final dividend as it reported a 55% drop in full year pre-tax profit and warned market conditions remain extremely challenging.For the year ended 30 April 2009 pre-tax profit fell to £2.65m from £5.94m the same time a year earlier. Sales slipped 3% to £75.56m.The board has recommended a final dividend of 1.33p compared to 2.65p in 2008.Chairman David Green commented, "The group has a strong balance sheet, with no debt, and is well placed to deal with the current recession and capitalise on any opportunities which may arise in the future.""The US and most of our other major markets are in deep recession and, whilst we have taken action to reduce costs, these will not in any way off-set the level of sales decline that we are currently experiencing," he added. The group expects trading conditions to remain challenging for the current year and will put focus on conserving cash and maintaining tight control over its cost base.