Liverpool-based rewards and gifting firm, Appreciate Group, saw revenues slump by 17.7 per cent for the six months up to 30 September.
Revenues totalled £27.4m for the period. And, the company made a pre-tax loss of £4.6m compared with a loss of £1.2m for the same six months last year.
However, the company confirmed it has reinstated the dividend for its shareholders and predicts growth in sales over the Christmas period as businesses seek alternatives to staff Christmas parties.
And, Appreciate says lockdown measures in November are having “far less impact” than earlier in the year following the evolution of the business in recent months.
Performance remains ahead of an original mid-range scenario for the potential impact of the Covid pandemic, the group said.
Ian O’Doherty, chief executive at Appreciate Group plc, said: “The decisive actions we took to intensify the focus on digital and accelerate parts of our strategy have led to a steady recovery and now improvement in performance, following the initial shock when lockdown measures were first introduced in March. The first two months of the second half have seen us trade closer to 2019 levels, with a continued recovery expected to enable the significant swing in profitability the Group typically sees in its important second half trading period.
“The repositioning of the business will ensure it is more resilient during the current November lockdown, whilst putting us in the strongest competitive position to deliver growth when life returns to normal.”
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