Safestyle shares (LON: SFE) were down 10.5% on Thursday after the group revealed pre-tax loss of £5m in the six months to June 30.
The group said that revenue and profitability between March and May had fallen as a result of the pandemic and having to cease trading.
However, the group remained positive about trading post-lockdown and reported a 26% growth between June and August.
“The first half of 2020 presented some major management and operational challenges which were successfully navigated with strong support from our shareholders, effective Government intervention and the efforts of all of our staff. Clearly their health and safety, along with that of our customers, was our priority during the lockdown period,” said chief executive Mike Gallacher.
“Since we re-emerged from lockdown, our strong order intake performance has been sustained and we have moved to ramp up operational capacity to match this demand.
“We have experienced some operational challenges linked to recovering the backlog of warranty work from the lockdown, our growth and recent supplier performance. We are focused on ensuring that the impact of these issues on our good customer service levels is addressed promptly,” he added.
“It is not yet clear if the recent strong trading performance is sustainable in light of the current economic environment and any uncertainty is likely to impact consumer confidence.
“However our strong order book, our position as a leading national value brand and the progress made on modernising the business leaves us well positioned to sustain our momentum as we move into 2021,” said Gallacher.
Safestyle shares (LON: SFE) are trading -9.54% at 48,85 (0924GMT).
