Chesterfield packaging firm slips into the red

Profits have been wiped out at Chesterfield packaging firm Robinsons as the company posted an operating loss of £174,000 for the six months ending 30 June.

The firm posted a revenue increase of 6%, but says resin price hikes and new business gains taking longer to come to fruition have hit the business hard.

Robinsons says it is selling its Walton Mill and Boythorpe Works sites, the cash from which will come through in 2018.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange this morning, Robinsons said: “We do expect to see sufficient new business coming through in the second half to achieve growth in revenue for the year as a whole and we expect to continue to build the pipeline for further growth in 2018. Re-organisation of manufacturing to achieve efficiencies and investments in capital equipment to improve capacity and capability are being carried out to support this growth and help to recover margins.”

Robinsons employs 300 people and is headquartered in Chesterfield, with manufacturing facilities in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Stanton Hill (Nottinghamshire) and Lodz and Warsaw (Poland),