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| Hornby shares soar as boss is derailed | Hornby shares soar as boss is derailed |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Shares in Hornby have soared by more than a third after the toymaker said Richard Ames would step down as chief executive. | |
| His departure comes after shares in the company, whose brands include Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi, crashed last week after a "disappointing" start to the year. | His departure comes after shares in the company, whose brands include Scalextric, Airfix and Corgi, crashed last week after a "disappointing" start to the year. |
| Chairman Roger Canham will now lead the group for the "foreseeable future". | Chairman Roger Canham will now lead the group for the "foreseeable future". |
| Hornby shares were up 9p, or 36.73%, to 33.5p by close of trading in London. | |
| However, the company is still worth just £18m. | |
| Supply issues | Supply issues |
| Mr Ames took over in 2014 and during his first 12 months in charge led the company to its first profit in three years. | Mr Ames took over in 2014 and during his first 12 months in charge led the company to its first profit in three years. |
| However, results worsened during 2015 amid a costly IT upgrade, management changes and international supply problems for its model railways. | However, results worsened during 2015 amid a costly IT upgrade, management changes and international supply problems for its model railways. |
| The Kent-based company last week issued its second profit warning in the space of six months, forecasting pre-tax losses of between £5.5m and £6m this year. | The Kent-based company last week issued its second profit warning in the space of six months, forecasting pre-tax losses of between £5.5m and £6m this year. |
| It also revealed a £1m write-off and said it was in talks with its lender, as the scale of losses could result in the firm breaching its banking agreements. | It also revealed a £1m write-off and said it was in talks with its lender, as the scale of losses could result in the firm breaching its banking agreements. |
| Hornby enjoyed buoyant trading in the run-up to Christmas, with a 17% rise in like-for-like sales during November and December. Yet conditions since the start of this have been in "stark contrast", the company added. | Hornby enjoyed buoyant trading in the run-up to Christmas, with a 17% rise in like-for-like sales during November and December. Yet conditions since the start of this have been in "stark contrast", the company added. |
| Although UK trading is expected to improve in February and March, sales would still be "significantly" behind previous expectations. | Although UK trading is expected to improve in February and March, sales would still be "significantly" behind previous expectations. |