Shares in bespoke paper manufacturer James Cropper (CRPR:AIM) surge 10% to 727.5p as the Cumbria-based company says full year results will materially exceed market expectations.
The £60 million cap experienced healthy sales growth in 2015, particularly in its technical fibre division, which produces non-woven mats and veils for the aerospace, defence and automotive industries.
The group suffered a large setback in December 2015 when Storm Desmond caused flooding at its mill in Burneside. It says insurance and ‘other mitigating factors’ will compensate for any adverse financial impact including business disruption.
House broker Stockdale has increased its pre-tax profit forecast for the year to March 2016 from £3.9 million to £4.5 million.
Its new profit target represents a year-on-year rise of 28.6%. This is on the back of increased operating margin assumptions in the technical fibre products division, where the heavy capital investment of the past few years is beginning to deliver a payback.
Stockdale has increased its target price from 750p to 800p, implying further share price upside of 10%.
