Coral Products (AIM:CRU) says operational gains in manufacturing efficiency, post-acquisition integration and intercompany activity have supported the business through the second half of the year to 30 April.
The group warned, however, that the timing of revenues from established customer contracts and the phasing of new wins meant a proportion of expected Q4 sales will be recognised in FY27 rather than FY26. Management says the shift is partly a result of the ongoing Middle East conflict, which has “affected customer demand patterns and the timing of order fulfilment across certain markets.”
The Board stressed the impact is timing-related and that customer commitments remain in place. “These sales are deferred and not lost, with customer commitments remaining in place at contracted rates and order visibility supporting future delivery,” the Board said. Nonetheless, the delayed recognition will reduce second-half profitability as the deferred revenues carry expected margin contribution.
Despite the phasing, Coral expects a positive full-year underlying operating profit, reflecting the operational improvements noted by management. The update covers trading ahead of the year end on 30 April.
