Scapa improves margins
TECHNICAL tapes maker Scapa Group’s “continued focus on higher quality revenues” helped it to increase pre-tax profits by 72% to £10.5m in the year to March 31 (2011: £6.1m), even though revenues only grew by 1.7% to £195.6m (£192.3m).
The Ashton-under-Lyne company said that despite a tough trading environment, a number of “self-help measures” taken by the company had helped to improve profitability.
These have included a series of measures to drive out costs, including a centralisation of certain functions and efforts to optimise supply chains.
It has also simplified the number of products in its core industrial tapes business, meaning that although its sales remained largely flat at £145.9, its trading profits increased by 67% to £7.2m. Profits also climbed by 28% in its healthcare division to £5.5m, and chief executive Heejae Chae said the acquisition of US-based adhesive-backed medical devices firm WEBTEC in December for $45m “brings with it significant scope for further opportunities and strengthens our position in the healthcare market”.
“We are confident it will make a solid contribution to the current year’s performance,” he added.
“We continue to be mindful of the current macro-economic issues but we are well positioned to continue to execute the self-help agenda and to invest in repositioning the group towards higher, value-added business. We look forward to making further progress in the new financial year.”
The company finished the year with slightly lower net assets of £66.1m (68.6m), which it said was due to higher borrowing as a result of the WEBTEC deal.
