Improved H1 for cost-cutting Renold
CHAIN manufacturer Renold, which is in the midst of a tough cost cutting programme, has announced a better half-year trading performance.
The Manchester company, which also specialises in power transmission products, said profits in the six months to the end of September rose from £400,000 to £1.1mm on turnover £95.6m (£96.7m in H1 2012). Net debt was more than 10% down at £22m.
The biggest aspect of Renold’s cost cutting drive is the closure of its factory in Bredbury, Stockport, with then loss of all 230 jobs.
The company says the project to reduce manufacturing capacity would deliver £3.2m annual gains in operating profits when complete in the first quarter of its 2014/15 financial year.
Chief executive Robert Purcell, said: “We have made significant progress in the current turnaround phase of our plan with major reductions in overheads already delivering improved margins.
“We have also established a clear road map to further material gains in the short term with the planned removal of excess capacity and the consequent further lowering in the Group’s break-even point.
“We remain focussed on self-help measures to deliver continuous steady improvements in earnings over the medium term and to meet the cost of the required investment in the business.”
