Profits treble at rubber group Berwin

PROFITS more than trebled last year at Berwin Group, the Cheshire
rubber and PVC manufacturer.

Sales at the Dukinfield-based company rocketed 71% from £36.1m to £61.9m as profit surged from £1.02m to £3.46m in the year to the end of July 2011.

Berwin which supplies a range of industries from aerospace and automotive to footwear owns the Berwin Rubber Company, Flexi-Cell (UK), Berwin of Lydney and Fabprene businesses.

Newly-filed accounts show the majority of growth came from the domestic market as US sales rose from £30.7m to £52.7m. Sales to Europe also followed an upward trajectory, rising from £2.9m to £5.3m.  Sales to the rest of the world slipped from £3.7m to £2.89m.

During the year staff numbers rose from 187 to 215, and employee costs from £4.9m to £6.2m.

In his report director Paul Stevenson said the strong results “reflect the benefits from continual reviewing of the group’s costs and the policy of expanding the product range across as many of the sectors of the market as possible.”

During the year a dividend of £453,000 was paid, up from £198,000 in 2010.