Profits warning at Printing.com - Crain's Manchester Business

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Chief executive of Printing.com, Tony Rafferty,

7:47 am, January 22, 2009
Profits warning at Printing.com

Shares in Printing.com (AIM: PDC) slid today after it issued a profit warning, saying trading in November and December was 3 per cent down on 2007.

The shares were down 17 per cent at 22p when the market opened.

In a trading update, the company said client confidence had suffered due to the economic uncertainty, reversing a 9 per cent sales increase in the first six months to September 30.

Orders have fallen for end-client advertising material, which is more than 90 per cent of the Trafford Park-based company’s business.

Printing.com, headed by chief executive Tony Rafferty, has invested an extra £125,000 in a “January sale” promotional push which it said had pulled in 2,400 new clients and arrested the sales decline.

It also admitted to problems at some of its bolt-on franchises, design, printing or web consultants who have added the Printing.com offering to their other services. It said some had seen bigger revenue falls than Printing.com.

The statement added: “Taking all the above factors into account, some operational margin has been eroded and volumes are slightly lower than for the corresponding period in the previous year. Consequently we believe the outturn for the year is likely to be slightly below market expectations.”

The company confirmed its immiment move into the US market, where it has granted a master licence to a commercial printer in Jacksonville, Florida. It expects to open two Printing.com stores in Jacksonville and Gainesville, Florida, during April 2009, and to launch a franchising programme in Florida and Georgia.

Printing.com, which operates through a network of franchises and does all its printing for UK, Ireland and France at its Trafford Park hub, also said it expected to add more stores in Europe this year. Where territory franchisees fail, it would operate the business directly until it could find a new franchisee.

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