Higher silver prices dent Harman’s revenues
CHESHIRE-based Harman Technology, the manufacturer of traditional black and white photographic film, saw rising silver prices hit sales last year.
The Mobberley-based company, which was created in 2005 after the demise of photographic giant Ilford Imaging as the world turned digital, said customers placed large orders in 2011 in a bid to pre-empt rising silver prices, but this meant demand was lower in 2012.
The price of silver is significant because it is a key component in the manufacture of monochrome photographic material.
Newly-filed accounts for the year to December show revenue fell 15% to £20.1m which pushed the company to a pre-tax loss of £90,332, down from a profit in the prior year of £673,515. It made an operating profit, before restructuring costs of £400,000.
In their report the directors said: “As a result of increases to our product selling prices in early 2011, a consequence of rapidly rising silver commodity prices, a significant volume of sales were made in 2011 to distributors around the globe who wished to pre-empt these increases.
“As a consequence 2012 sales volumes suffered as the global supply chain utilised those inventories purchased in the prior period. These phasing issues realigned in the final quarter of 2012 and a normal trading pattern has returned in the first four months of 2013.”
During the period the company invested in a facility that makes the containers – or cassettes – for rolls of 35mm film, and acquired a further 41% share in cancer detection specialist Cellect Biotech, a joint venture with Israel-based Cellect Technologies.
Most of Harman’s business comes from film but it continues to look at new products and markets. One of the biggest opportunities has been the development of silver chloride compounds which can be used by companies making a new wave of anti-microbial products for products from fridges to textiles – such as socks that reduce foot odour and fungal growth in laminated furniture.
Harman – which takes its name from the founder of Ilford, Alfred Harman – reduced staff numbers from 245 to 221 during the year. The company has also just won its 22nd consecutive gold award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.
