Stoke-on-Trent based Portmeirion, the long-established manufacturer of high-quality tableware, cookware and giftware, has become one of the most successful British design brands, with recent successes reflecting a manufacturing shift to the Far East, licensing deals with contemporary designers and astute acquisitions.

Despite challenging conditions in the retail realm, recent full-year results to December 2007 were robust. On 12.6% growth in turnover to an all-time high of £32m, Portmeirion achieved healthy 15% growth in pre-tax profits to £3.4m, before exceptional items. Finishing the year with £2.7m cash, Portmeirion was able to announce a 5% increase in the total dividend to 14.7p.

During the year, UK sales grew by 10.4% and export revenues rose 13.6% – markets outside of the UK are proving critical to growth, with the US and South Korea representing two of the top three countries in terms of sales. Botanic Garden, the well-established and popular casual dining collection, remained the best-selling range, accounting for more than half of annual revenues, while Portmeirion also reported 189% growth in sales of contemporary ranges such as Sophie Conran and Totally Tracy. Gazing ahead, acquisitions that broaden the group’s product offering, such as the October 2006 acquisition of placemats manufacturer Pimpernel, will remain important.

While the UK and US retail environments remain exceptionally challenging, Portmeirion is profitable and its increasingly global outlook should serve shareholders well. Recent share price weakness has left the shares trading on only 8.2 times last year’s 30.77p of earnings with a yield of more than 5.8%. If you already own shares, don’t part with them now.

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Portmeirion	AIM	£12.15m	122.50p	0.00p
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