Coburg

A turnaround, of sorts, has been achieved at Coburg, the tea and coffee group. In the interim period to October, turnover increased 30% to £1.25m and profits before tax came in at £5,000. This compares with a loss of £24,000 last time and was achieved in difficult trading conditions brought on by the exceptionally warm summer. Coburg's share price shot up 54.3% at the news, increasing its market capitalisation from £1.45m to £2.2m in a matter of hours. Having rejigged the board with Alistair Summers taking over as chief executive and Konrad Lee becoming non-executive chairman, Coburg is planning to develop Colchester-based Ashby's as a coffee franchise brand as well as raising the profile of last year's acquisition Rizzi as a genuine Italian brand. It also raised £320,000 by a private placing of 4m shares at 8p each in December and is looking to make further acquisitions with the proceeds. In addition, the money raised has allowed Coburg to invest in its Woolwich factory and it has just concluded the purchase of a coffee roaster to increase its coffee roasting capacity. Demand in October to December remained steady, however Coburg has warned it is aware that conditions in the high street remain challenging for many of its clients. Reduce.

Sector: Food Producers

Companies: Coburg

Market cap: £2.1m

PE Forecast: n/a

Share price: 13.5p

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