Bury-based commercial flooring company James Halstead has reported a half-year increase in revenue and profit.
However, the AIM-listed manufacturer acknowledged that the “world has changed since the turn of the year”.
In its interim results for the six months ended December 31, the group reported revenue had increased 3.7 per cent to £130.4m, up from £125.8m for the same period the previous year.
Meanwhile, pre-tax profit grew 2.8 per cent to £25.2m, up from £24.5m reported in 2018.
Chief Executive Mark Halstead said: "In the first half, we have supplied flooring to installations as diverse as the Folies Bergère in Paris and to the Pooch Perfect TV set for Network Seven in Australia and, with profits growth and robust cash balances, it was a satisfying performance.
“However, the world has changed since the turn of the year and we are focused on the security of our businesses and the immediate challenges of the Coronavirus (COVID- 19).
“The focus of our business has moved to our expertise in healthcare as the immediate need in many of our markets for flooring is in this sector."
The group’s chairman Anthony Wild said in his statement that, up until March 20, it had not seen any “meaningful” disruptions to its operations.
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It said its office refurbishment, retailer business and leisure will “inevitably” slow “drastically” in the coming weeks.
However, it said a major part of our business is in healthcare, with over 70 per cent of its turnover exported.
It said: “Our Group has plans in place to mitigate adverse challenges we face, and resources have been put in place to allow for remote working for many office-based personnel.
“More importantly we have rigorous procedures in our factories to protect our colleagues including social distancing measures and use of sanitizers.
“We have also insisted on any employee with symptoms remaining at home, sent home any worker with underlying conditions, closed vending machines, conducted all meetings by conference call and limited staff to no more than two people in any room at the same time.”
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Given how well the company is run and how solidly it is financed, it was always going to take something extraordinary to break James Halstead’s phenomenal run of increases in its dividend and the viral outbreak has just proved it.
“The floorings expert has trimmed back its interim payment to 2.125p a share from 4p.
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“This does not mean the growth streak in the annual payment, which dates back to 1977, is over for certain.
“If circumstances permit, James Halstead will consider a second interim dividend in August and the final dividend could make up the slack but for the moment the company is prudently hunkering down.”
He added: “An extended three-week Easter break for staff at one production facility shows that management is aware of...concerns, but the flooring specialist will be able to help in another way too.
“Although retail and hospitality are big markets for the AIM-quoted company, James Halstead is an official key supplier to the NHS, having supplied the organisation for over 70 years, and £67 million of inventory help to meet the immediate requirements of the health services in the 海角视频 and beyond.”