Robinson PLC on Thursday reported a swing to an interim loss as operating costs increased and revenue declined, with the company noting challenging macroeconomic conditions.

The Chesterfield, England-based plastic and paperboard packaging manufacturer said in the first half of 2023, it turned to a pretax loss of £874,000 from a profit of £2.8 million a year prior.

Revenue declined 4.3% to £24.3 million from £25.4 million. Operating costs increased 25% to £4.0 million from £3.2 million. Further, it incurred an exceptional items cost of £476,000 compared to a gain of £2.0 million a year before.

Robinson maintained its interim dividend at 2.5 pence per share.

Meanwhile, the company confirmed that Chief Executive Officer Helene Roberts will resign from her role on September 1, with senior independent non-executive director Sara Halton taking over on an interim basis while the company is searching for a new CEO. Roberts’s planned departure from her role and her interim replacement by Halton were previously announced in June.

Looking ahead, the company notes more business activity and additional sales opportunities in 2023 and beyond. It expects higher sales volumes due to recent business wins and seasonality.

Robinson anticipates adjusted operating profit in 2023 to be marginally ahead of 2022’s £2.0 million and in line with current expectations.

In the first half of 2023, adjusted operating profit fell to £469,000 from £1.5 million a year before.

Chair Alan Raleigh said: ‘We remain committed in the medium-term to delivering above-market profitable growth and our target of 6-8% adjusted operating margin.’ The company explains that adjusted operating margin is before amortisation of intangible assets and exceptional items.

Robinson shares fell 2.1% to 93.00 pence each on Thursday morning in London.

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