First profits slip in a decade for James Halstead

JAMES Halstead, which makes and supplies commercial flooring and exports internationally, has seen pre-tax profits fall for the first time in a decade.

After several years of continuous growth the business has reported a 4% reduction in revenue to £217.1m in the year to June, and a 3.5% slip in pre-tax profits to £41.2m.

The company said sales grew by 3.5% in the UK and were down by 1.1% overall after stripping out the effects of foreign currency translation and the closure of the Phoenix motorcycle accessories business.

Chairman Geoffrey Halstead said “tough” was the best description of a market still constrained by restricted Government spending and where major projects are “keenly contested”.

But the business stressed its flooring business continued to be “highly successful” and it had doubled turnover and trebled profits in the past decade. Nonetheless, chief executive Mark Halstead said the fall in profits was disappointing as this was the first decline in over a decade.

He said: “We have grown significantly in the last few years and though in this year like-for-like turnover is 1.1% behind last year this should not detract from the upward trend we have seen and are determined to exploit. We remain highly profitable and cash generative which underpins our ability and intention to continue our record of dividends.”

Cash stands at £34.9m and the company is proposing a final dividend of 6p a share, up from 5.5p.