 | C.A. Coutts Holdings plc (“Coutts” or the “Company”) Positive trading statement C.A. Coutts Holdings plc (Coutts), the retail communications group, announces that as a result of strong trading throughout the second half of the year, and in particular trading pre-Christmas, it expects to report materially higher profits for the year ended 27 December 2003 than those forecast by the market. All areas of Coutts’ retail communications business have performed strongly with a number of new business wins (MGM, Citroen and Allders) combining with significant continuing work from existing clients such as Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Hutchison and Manor Bakeries to produce results above market expectations. As in previous years, the group expects to release its preliminary results during March 2004. Robert Essex, Executive Chairman, commented: “Improvements in trading have stemmed from our continuing strategy to focus strongly on retail communications. The last six months trading performance demonstrates the success of this strategy. We have benefited from higher margins and stronger recurring revenues by supplying a wide range of retail communications services to a growing base of blue-chip clients who recognise the value of our unique design, manufacturing and fulfilment expertise in helping drive their sales in the competitive retail arena.” |
