By Kyle Morris

Character Group PLC said Thursday that pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 fell amid difficult macroeconomic conditions and the recent weakness in sterling.

The London-listed distributor of toys, games and giftware said pretax profit for the six months to Feb. 28 was 6.5 million pounds ($8 million), compared with GBP7.6 million a year earlier.

Revenue for the period was GBP90.9 million, compared with GBP74.5 million, it said.

The board declared an interim dividend of 7.0 pence a share, compared with 6.0 pence a year prior.

The company said its first-half sales momentum is continuing, though it remains mindful of the challening macroeconomic conditions and the sterling weakness. Inbound shipping delays are continuing as a result of Covid-19 concerns, it said.

Pretax profit before highlighted items for the year ending Aug. 31 is seen in line with market expectations, Character Group said.

Shares at 0756 GMT were down 7.00 pence, or 1.2%, at 575.00 pence.

Write to Kyle Morris at kyle.morris@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2022 04:24 ET (08:24 GMT)

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