Industrial thread maker Coats Group upgraded its full-year expectations on Wednesday following a “strong” first half.
In an update for the six months to 30 June, the company said a strong operational performance and demand recovery have continued, despite the impact of lockdowns in India in May and June, which have now subsided.
Group sales for the period rose to $732m from $536m in the first half of 2020 and $705m in 2019. Organic group sales grew 34% year-on-year but just 1% versus 2019. Coats said that excluding the impact of the recent lockdown in India, organic growth would have been 3% compared to 2019.
First-half adjusted operating profit for the group is now expected to come in at around $95m, up from $34m in the same period a year ago but down from $102m in 2019.
Coats said pricing actions and self-help productivity programmes continue to offset heightened inflationary pressure and that its 2021 performance is now anticipated to be “moderately ahead” of its previous expectations.
