4 June 2009 - Confectionery producer Sweet China Plc, which is based in the UK but mainly caters for Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, has announced that it has seen a decline in order levels as a result of the global downturn. However, the company stressed that its underlying business remains profitable and it is currently negotiating with a number of potential new customers.
"Over the last six months we have also restructured the sourcing of most products away from a single source model, to a variety of suppliers from a number of countries. This has resulted in a major improvement in the quality of products, which the Directors believe will have a significant impact on the reputation, sales and value of our brands", said the company.
Sweet China will report its annual performance in August. However, the company anticipates a financial loss for the year ending 30 April 2009.
"It has been previously disclosed that due to the generic seasonal nature of the business, additional working capital is always required to fund the build up of stock to meet our peak selling season - Christmas. The season starts in July and clearly failure to secure this funding would impact on our ability to build sufficient stock however discussions are well advanced with providers of both debt and equity finance and the Directors are optimistic regarding a satisfactory conclusion to these discussions shortly", added Sweet China.
