Current Trading Update

Character Group PLC 17 December 2007 Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd, Birmingham Date: Monday, 17 December 2007 IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Character Group plc Current Trading Update The Board of The Character Group plc ('Group' or 'Company') provides the following update to shareholders in relation to trading in the final run up to Christmas. The Directors have noted that retail sales for Christmas 2007 started late and that the market has not recovered from this belated seasonal start. The current difficult trading environment has resulted in toy retail consumer sales being slower than anticipated and consequently, lower than budgeted levels of stock replenishment orders have been received by the Company from its customers. Against the backdrop of these unusually difficult trading conditions, coupled with the lost sales of Bindeez products and the Group's recent product recall already reported (viewed by the Board as a one off impact), the Company is taking a more cautious view on revenue outcome for the first half of the current financial year. The Directors therefore expect that revenues for the four months to 31 December 2007 will be down by approximately 18% on the same period last year. As a major UK supplier, the Group is not immune to the effects of faltering consumer confidence and this view seems to be supported by the heavy discounting occurring on the high street. Whilst the trading situation is disappointing to report, overall the Board continues to be encouraged by the growth in its brands. Currently, the Group's 2008 product range is being previewed by the major retailers. To date, there has been a very positive reaction to the new product portfolio and therefore the Directors expect revenue growth in the second half of the current financial year ending 31 August 2008 to be ahead of the same period in 2007. Enquiries: Fiona Tooley, Director Kiran Shah, Group Finance Director & Joint MD Keith Gabriel, Senior Account Manager The Character Group plc Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: +44 (0) 20 8949 5898 Tel: +44 (0) 121 455 8370 Mobile: +44 (0) 7956 278522 (KS) Mobile: +44 (0) 7785 703523 (FMT) www.thecharacter.com www.character-online.co.uk Richard Thompson Philip Davies Charles Stanley Securities Nominated Adviser Tel: +44 (0) 20 7149 6000 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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