Flowtech revenues up after ‘exciting’ first year on AIM

FLOWTECH  Fluidpower, the AIM-listed company which specialises in technical fluid power products, has seen operating profits increase 67% in its first full year as a listed company.

The Skelmersdale-based group saw revenues increase 18% to £44.8m for the year to the end of December 2015 (2014: £37.8m). Operating profits increased to £5.5m. from £3.36m the previous year.

The main driver for growth over the year came from the group’s investment in the newly established Power Motion Control division.

After initial setbacks from the slowdown in offshore and oil and gas market expenditure, the combined Primary, Nelson Hydraulics, and Albroco operations made considerable progress during the latter part of 2015.

Chairman Malcolm Diamond MBE said: “2015 and early 2016  has been an exciting period of positive development around the group encompassing the launching of over 6,300 new products along with broadened categories, four important acquisitions, strategic structural refinements for improved operating efficiencies and new data processing resources – all of which support and enhance market leading customer service levels going forward.”

Following the year end, in February the company added Indequip and in March Hydravalve  to its portfolio, the latter establishing a new Process division.

It said that while both will remain commercially independent, as part of the Flowtech Group they will be able to take advantage of the wider product offer, technical backup and marketing resources available.

The company has said that despite some current “headwinds” in industrial markets, it is upbeat and is “actively pursuing” a number of possible acquisitions.

The net debt position at the year-end was £9.0m (2014: £6.7m).