Companies: CC.   

Shares in card and gift retailer Clinton Cards dropped by 10% as a trading statement revealed only a modest improvement in trading over the all-important Christmas period. But the company and the broker remain confident that the results for the year as a whole will be good. Over the last five weeks of the calendar year, sales from Clinton's 676 stores rose by 5% with like-for-like sales edging up by 1.5%. Within these figures, core card and wrapping paper sales were up by 3.3% while sales of gift products dropped by 5%. The reduction in volume of gift sales was largely as a result of last year's stock clearance, when more items were sold but at a lower margin. Clinton's modest performance may have suffered by comparison with some other high street retailers which enjoyed a bumper Christmas. Adrian Kearsey at broker Beeson Gregory said that the results looked 'modest rather than sparkling' against the retail sector, 'which is producing good growth at the moment. The numbers were as we were forecasting, and you have to remember that cards and wrapping paper are not exactly fashion items, swinging in and out of favour'. Kearsey has not altered his forecasts for the full year figures, which are due out at the beginning of April. Sales should hit £289.5m, with profits of £20.7m and earnings of 21.1p. This puts the business on a very undemanding p/e of 6.8. For the year to January 2003, Kearsey forecasts earnings per share of 23.5p from profits of £23m, with turnover rising to £299m. This translates to a p/e of 6.1.