30 September 2013 – interim results
Long term holders of Straight will no doubt be pleased to see the company’s return to profitability in the first half of 2013. Although group sales in the first half of 2013 were £13.90m (2012: £16.70m). Group sales in 2012 were buoyed by the drought in early spring and subsequent over-stocking by customers, which impacted 2013 demand. A profit before taxation of £0.34m was achieved (2012: loss of £0.24m) after taking into account share option costs, amortisation, non-recurring items and finance costs. Underlying earnings for the period were 2.7p (2012: 1.8p), with basic earnings per share coming in at 2.1p (2012: loss of 2.1p). No dividend was declared but the outlook now looks brighter than it has done for some time. The shares remain GOOD VALUE.