27 September 2011 – interim results

Disappointing results for the first half were only helped by news that the rest of the year is expected to see far better performance.  In the six months ended 30 June 2011 a loss before tax of £0.1m was suffered after exceptional costs versus a profit of £0.8m a year earlier.  However, group sales were up 14% at £15.0m.

Clearly Straight has had a tough time so far this year and there will be no interim dividend.  Nevertheless, this is now a vertically integrated operation and over the medium to long term prospects still look exciting.  In the short term it is difficult to see what might drive the price higher so we keep our HOLD rating.