Sales, profits slide at Character Group after 'difficult' year

(Sharecast News) - Shares in The Character Group fell sharply on Wednesday, after the toys and games specialist posted a slump in annual sales and profits and warned of "slow" trading in the run-up to Christmas. Revenues at the British firm, which has been rocked by US tariffs, fell to £100.5m in the year to 31 August, from £123.4m.

Operating profits before the impact of currency fluctuations slumped to £1.1m from £6.5m, while the pre-tax loss came in at £1.8m, compared to a pre-tax profit last year of £5.7m.

Character, which makes branded Peppa Pig, Sticki Rolls and Goo Jit Zu toys and games, among others, acknowledged it had been a "difficult year". In particular, Donald Trump's swingeing tariff regime, unveiled in April, "severely impacted" the second half. Around 20% of Character's turnover comes from the US, with most production sourced from China.

Character continued: "In addition, lingering economic uncertainty and political instability in many regions has had a dampening effect in all our markets and has left the industry subdued globally."

Looking to the current year, Character said "slow" sales in the lead-up to Christmas were down on the same period in 2024.

"The landscape in all the group's markets is still looking unsettled and we expect that conditions are likely to remain challenging for the rest of the first half," it warned.

Character stressed it had a strong balance sheet, cash reserves and "substantial" unused finance facilities, and reiterated its commitment to launching a new share buyback. However, investors remain unconvinced, and by 0930 GMT the AIM-listed stock had shed 13% at 230p.