Property profits for Charlie's

Friday 29th January 2010

Charlie’s Group has squeezed out a profit in the six months to December 31 thanks to the sale of an Auckland property.

The juicemaker also reports that cost cutting and growth in its Australian business helped furning the six months.

Profit for the period was $1.7 million to $1.8 million, the company said in earnings guidance released today. The Auckland-based owner of the Charlie’s and Phoenix Organics brand drinks posted a net loss of $661,000 in the first half of the corresponding period last year.

Chief executive Stefan Lepionka has been taking costs out of the business after announcing last June that the company had turned down ‘low-ball’ takeover offers from multi-national rivals and was considering options to raise capital and reduce debt as it returned to profitability in 2010.

The first-half results include a gain of $1.2 million on the sale of its Henderson, Auckland property.

“We’ve been working pretty hard on turning the business around,” Lepionka told BusinessWire.” He announced $2.5 million of cost cuts at the company’s annual meeting.

Charlie’s is due to release its first-half results on February 23. The shares rose 0.5 cent to 9 cents on the NZX today but have declined 22% in the past year.

Lepionka said the company has gained “excellent efficiencies” from its new plants in Australia and growth in that market “is going pretty well as well.”

Businesswire.co.nz

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