Colefax Group (CFX) , an international designer and distributor of furnishing fabrics and wallpapers, has released its preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2023, with a strong performance in its fabrics division and European sales leading the way regionally.
Overall sales were up 3% to £104.80m, but down by 3% on a constant currency basis due to lower Decorating Division sales. Despite rising interest rates and a slowdown in housing market activity, trading conditions in the group's core Fabric Division remained mostly favourable throughout the year, with sales up 9.5% to £92.51m.
Pre-tax profit was down 21% to £8.54m, mainly due to lower Decorating Division profits following a record performance the prior year.
Regionally, US sales down were by 1% in FY23, UK sales saw a slight increase of 1%, and Europe sales were up by 7%.
Colefax remains well funded, with cash of £19.8 million.
David Green, Chief Executive of Colefax Group plc, said: "The Group has delivered another strong performance achieving record Fabric Division sales against a record prior year. We benefitted from a strong US Dollar and a continuation of the home decorating boom triggered by the pandemic but have also had to deal with high levels of cost inflation in all areas of the business."
"The performance of the Group lags activity in the high-end housing market and we do expect trading conditions to become progressively more challenging as steep interest rate increases start to have an impact in the US and the UK. These expectations are factored into our current year market forecast."
View from Vox
Colefax delivered a good set of results in FY23, but these were slightly overshadowed by the strong FY22 results, which saw record sales and profits across the board, attributed to good housing market conditions and a boom in decorating following lockdown restrictions.
Despite a slowdown in the housing market, Colefax’s Fabric Division still managed to navigate these headwinds, achieving record Fabric Division sales against a record prior year comparative, with US sales up by 11% and Europe by 9% and by 7% on a constant currency basis. Europe was the best-performing market for sales growth, partly down to an increase in contract orders linked to a strong post covid recovery in the high-end hotels sector.
Alongside the US and Europe, Colefax also operates in the Middle East, China and Australia, which made up a small percentage of total sales but nonetheless represents an opportunity to expand into more key markets globally.
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