MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
September 1-15, 2004 Edition
Quarto Reports
Healthy Increase
in Book Profits
LONDON/08/21/04London-based Quarto Group Plc has reported a 23-percent increase in profits for the first half of the year, and predicts strong growth to continue over the full year.
The company recorded pretax profit of 1.7 million pounds ($3.1 million) for the six month period ending in June, an increase from 1.4 million for the previous year’s comparative period, and increased its interim dividend by 10 percent to 2.75 pence per share. Sales increased 4 percent to 31 million pounds (or 14 percent in constant currency).
Quarto’s key markets for books and art prints are the United States (which accounts for about 60 percent of revenues) and Australia. Sales in its other markets, including Southeast Asia and Germany, have experienced a slight upturn.
