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LONDON (Alliance News) - Model railway maker Hornby PLC Tuesday said sales in the first quarter of its financial year were in line with its own expectations and "slightly ahead" of last year.
The company, which also makes Scalextric toy race car sets, Airfix models, Humbrol paints and Corgi die cast models, said sales of its Airfix and Corgi products in the four months to end of July have been "encouraging", while it has made good progress in the management of aged stock.
"The pre-Christmas period will be an important factor in the overall result of the current financial year. We have a strong range of products and initial indicators of both listings and orders are encouraging," the company said in a statement.
"With the correct volumes in play we are satisfied that our trading outlook is in line with market expectations," it added.
Hornby said it continued to focus on the production processes for Hornby and Scalextric products from its supplier partners in Asia, and whilst it still foresees challenges in ongoing production it remains confident that supplies of key products will improve over time.
The company's long-standing major supplier closed the factory which made Hornby model railways, forcing the British company to look for new suppliers. Earlier this year, Hornby said it had come to an agreement to cease trading with that supplier, meaning that its tools and mould will be available to its other manufacturing partners.
The company said its plans for the migration of its UK logistics and warehousing functions to DS Logistics in Hersden, Kent later this month are progressing well.
"We expect that this facility will enable the company to service its UK customer base more effectively over the key sales period this Christmas. We are now assessing opportunities to build upon this service and our existing freehold site," it said.
Hornby shares were trading at 62.00 pence, up 4.2%, Tuesday morning.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; rowenaharrisdoughty@alliancenews.com; @rharrisdoughty
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