Quarto achieved 'strong' holiday trading ahead of annual results

Global illustrated publisher Quarto has said it achieved "strong trading" over the second half of the year and holidays, with its children's business "once again showing growth".

Ahead of its audited results for 2017 (to 31st December) in March, Quarto has released a trading update, revealing it expected revenue and profits to be in line with its last trading update in November 2017.

It revealed net debt had been reduced over the second half of the year, from $75.8m to $64m, but that year-on-year net debt had increased by $2.1m. This was largely due to Quarto's "poor" performance in the first half of 2017, the publisher said. 

A soft retail environment combined with what it described as "unusually high" returns from key customers had challenged Quarto in the first half of the year, the publisher previously said. This prompted a profit warning for 2017 in July, and in August it reported revenues in the first half had fallen by 13% to $50.2m. It has been a "challenging, transitional" year for the business, too, as it refocused on its core publishing business and restructured its finance team, and it briefly entertained an unsolicited offer to purchase the group.

Going forwards, Quarto will be realigning its portfolio and making operational improvements, its c.e.o. Marcus Leaver said.

"While 2017 was, overall, a challenging, transitional year, we are now a pure-play intellectual property business. We are particularly pleased with our strong trading performance in the second half, including the holiday period, with our Children’s business once again showing growth," Leaver said.

"We have moved into 2018 with clear objectives about realigning our portfolio with the broader market and consumer trends and making the financial and operational improvements required to fulfil our ambitions, including strengthening our balance sheet as a platform for growth."