JERSEY direct mail retailer Flying Brands halved its profit during 2008, the full-year results have revealed.

Newly appointed chief executive Stephen Cook says that the 45 staff employed in the Island are safe, although further cost cuts are in the offing. Profit before tax for the garden supplies, gifts and flowers-by-post businesses totalled £1.5m for the year to 2 January, compared with £3.2m in 2007.

The St Lawrence-based company says that revenue fell by eight per cent during the year to £42.5m, with sales over the internet representing up to a quarter of the income. The company has been hit by an £11.6m impairment charge from its failed Greetings Direct cards business, which is being closed down following bad debts and failed returns in the UK and Australia.

Shareholders will not be getting a dividend. The loss per share was 48.4p, compared with earnings per share of 13.2p for the previous year.

Pictured: Flying Brands in St Lawrence