Sales at Hornby
are booming again with the maker of model trains, Airfix kits and Corgi
toys expecting to make its first annual profit in three years.
The Corgi version of the James Bond Aston Martin DB5, made for Goldfinger’s 50th anniversary, sold out immediately. The Scalextric Arc One car racing set has also been very popular, and of its model trains the Pendolino, Flying Scotsman and Eurostar locomotives have done well.
The toymaker had recurring problems with a Chinese supplier but business started improving last year after it extricated itself from the manufacturing agreement and shifted production of its model railways to other companies in China. Several other Hornby products are made in Britain, including most of its Humbrol paints.
Sales surged 40% in its fourth quarter to the end of March, against a particularly weak quarter last year due to the supply problems. The late boost is expected to have lifted sales growth to 13% over the financial year as a whole, both for the group and the UK business. That is an acceleration from the 6% growth rate reported in February.
As a result of the pick-up in sales, Hornby is able to invest in the business while also expecting a pretax profit “in the region of £1.5m”. It would be its first pretax profit in three years.
Scalextric is once again the main sponsor of this year’s festival for slot cars – miniatures which run on tracks – in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Starting on 16 May, it is Europe’s biggest slot car event. Hornby also hopes to benefit from the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the 200-year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in June.
The toymaker’s finance chief, Nick Stone, is leaving later in the year and the chief executive Richard Ames said a search has started for his successor.
Ames, a former Ladbrokes executive who was brought in last year, said: “The business is in good shape as we continue to make encouraging progress with our strategy to drive Hornby’s recovery.”
He has drawn up plans to revamp Hornby’s European warehouses and management structures later this year.
The Kent-based toymaker, founded in 1901, is relocating from its historic Margate headquarters to the Discovery Park in Sandwich, a move which is expected to be completed by the end of May. The Margate site opened 60 years ago and Hornby made its toys there until the 1990s when it moved manufacturing to Asia.
Delays to manufacturing in China had bugged Hornby for years. Then in 2012, the London Olympics turned out to be a financial disaster for the company. Despite promising initial sales, its Olympics-themed products were a flop, causing an annual loss of nearly £4m.
The Corgi version of the James Bond Aston Martin DB5, made for Goldfinger’s 50th anniversary, sold out immediately. The Scalextric Arc One car racing set has also been very popular, and of its model trains the Pendolino, Flying Scotsman and Eurostar locomotives have done well.
The toymaker had recurring problems with a Chinese supplier but business started improving last year after it extricated itself from the manufacturing agreement and shifted production of its model railways to other companies in China. Several other Hornby products are made in Britain, including most of its Humbrol paints.
Sales surged 40% in its fourth quarter to the end of March, against a particularly weak quarter last year due to the supply problems. The late boost is expected to have lifted sales growth to 13% over the financial year as a whole, both for the group and the UK business. That is an acceleration from the 6% growth rate reported in February.
As a result of the pick-up in sales, Hornby is able to invest in the business while also expecting a pretax profit “in the region of £1.5m”. It would be its first pretax profit in three years.
Scalextric is once again the main sponsor of this year’s festival for slot cars – miniatures which run on tracks – in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Starting on 16 May, it is Europe’s biggest slot car event. Hornby also hopes to benefit from the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the 200-year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in June.
The toymaker’s finance chief, Nick Stone, is leaving later in the year and the chief executive Richard Ames said a search has started for his successor.
Ames, a former Ladbrokes executive who was brought in last year, said: “The business is in good shape as we continue to make encouraging progress with our strategy to drive Hornby’s recovery.”
He has drawn up plans to revamp Hornby’s European warehouses and management structures later this year.
The Kent-based toymaker, founded in 1901, is relocating from its historic Margate headquarters to the Discovery Park in Sandwich, a move which is expected to be completed by the end of May. The Margate site opened 60 years ago and Hornby made its toys there until the 1990s when it moved manufacturing to Asia.
Delays to manufacturing in China had bugged Hornby for years. Then in 2012, the London Olympics turned out to be a financial disaster for the company. Despite promising initial sales, its Olympics-themed products were a flop, causing an annual loss of nearly £4m.
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