St Ives posts profit increase

Reuters.

St Ives, which prints 160 million books each year, from Bibles to bestsellers like Harry Potter, also raised its total dividend for the year by 50% to 5.25p, after declaring a final dividend of 3.5p.

Print Week reports the results include a full-year contribution from Occam, and six months of Tactical Solutions. The marketing services wing made up just 4.7% of group sales, and posted a small profit of £450 000, but St Ives expects the growing division to generate between 30% and 40% of group profits within three years.

The bottom-line loss for the year, including an £18.6 million hit on discontinued operations, was £4.7 million.

“The last year has seen significant and important strides forward for St Ives,” Stock Market Wire quotes CEO Patrick Martell as saying.

“We have continued to reposition the group by strengthening our position in marketing services, while successfully moving away from commoditised print markets. The sale of the magazine printing business, and the acquisition of three further marketing services businesses, have significantly changed the shape of the Group.”