Coats, the world\u2019s leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market, announces its unaudited results for the year ended 31 December 2015.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Operating profit up 19% to $139 million on a like-for-like basis before exceptional items (13% reported)<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Group operating margin up 130bps to 9.4% (like-for-like); good growth in both Industrial and Crafts<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Adjusted EPS up 38% to 3.96c (like-for-like); reported EPS of (3.30)c primarily impacted by discontinued items related to disposal of EMEA Crafts<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Adjusted free cash flow of $74 million ($88 million in 2014)<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Strengthened business portfolio with disposal of loss-making EMEA Crafts business and first acquisition<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Initiated settlement discussions with the Trustees of the Company\u2019s three UK pension schemes to attempt a resolution of the ongoing pensions investigations<\/p>\n
Paul Forman, Group Chief Executive, Coats, said: \u2018Coats delivered a strong performance in 2015 with like-for-like operating profit growth of 19%. The core Apparel and Footwear business continued to gain market share; in Speciality we continued to grow through product innovation and geographic expansion, despite tough conditions in certain key markets; and in our Americas Crafts business we delivered an encouraging second half profit. Across the Group margins increased due to volume growth, lower input prices and procurement and productivity savings. This contributed to like-for-like adjusted EPS growth of 38%. However, discontinued losses related to the sale of our loss-making EMEA Crafts business, negatively impacted reported earnings.<\/p>\n
\u2018We enter 2016 on a solid footing with improving returns and quality of earnings and a stronger business portfolio. Our cash flow generation will remain strong which will allow us to continue to reinvest in organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Whilst we face a backdrop of mixed economic conditions, we are cautiously optimistic of growing the business in 2016.\u2019<\/p>\n