Profits on tap for bathroom fittings firm

BIRMINGHAM-based bathroom fittings manufacturer Samuel Heath has revealed an increase in full year revenue and profits but tempered against a subdued performance in the prior year.

Chairman Sam Heath outlined the situation in the results statement.

“It is pleasing to report a very much better year to March 31, 2016,” he said. “The profit before tax was £947,000 (2015: £443,000).  It has to be said that this comparison is with a particularly disappointing figure the year before.  This applies also to the operating profit of £1,156,000 (2015: £598,000) on revenue of £12,584,000 (2015: £11,198,000).”

He said customers were insistent on shorter delivery times and, as a result of decisions to facilitate these, the firm’s inventories had increased by £164,000; although its cash position improved by £430,000.

Capital expenditure during the year was £422,000 and average numbers of staff increased from 130 to 139.

The shadow of Brexit is also set to impact the business in the future, he warned.

“If there is one thing that is bad for our type of business it is uncertainty.  There is certainly plenty of that around, both in the UK, our largest market, and also in many of our other markets in the world,” he said.

“The feedback from our customers tells us that this is already having considerable effect on the level of new business activity that they are experiencing.  It takes much longer for us to feel the impact on this decrease than it did when we were conducting most of our business through the retail trade.
 
“All I can say is that during my considerable time with the company, we have experienced various extremes of government policies and world situations.  During these, we have survived and sometimes prospered.
 
“I can only add that for the first three months of the current financial year we have not suffered.  The next nine months could see a very different picture.”