Manufacturer’s trading grounded by lockdown disruption
Wakefield-based manufacturer Carclo Group says pandemic related lockdowns impacted its business in the first half of the year, with a fall in demand for new aircraft particularly affecting its aerospace division.
The company, which is a global supplier of technical plastics products, has today published its half year results for the six months ended 30 September 2020. These feature revenue from continuing operations of £50m, down 11% from £56m in the previous period.
Group statutory loss before tax was £0.9m (H1 2020: £5.6m), while underlying operating profit from continuing operations decreased by 54% to £1.5m (H1 2020: £3.3m).
Progress was made in improving the financial position of the Group with net debt, excluding IFRS16 lease liabilities, reducing to £24.4m at 30 September 2020.
However, operating profit for the company’s aerospace division fell by 33% to £0.5m (H1 2020: £0.7m) with the pandemic suppressing customer demand as new aircraft build rates reduced.
Nick Sanders, executive chairman, said: “The first half of the financial year has been one of transition against a backdrop of economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19.
“Our priority has been to keep our employees and our communities safe whilst maximising our output during this challenging period.
“Trading in the first half of the year was adversely affected by the pandemic with the impact of lockdowns in several countries causing either disruption to our customers or our own operations.
“The Group has responded swiftly to these challenges by taking advantage of Government assistance where available, implementing local Health & Safety measures and adjusting shift patterns as necessary.
“Demand for CTP products in the medical diagnostics sector is increasing as a result of the pandemic and we hope to secure further new contract awards over the coming months.
“Conversely demand in the aerospace sector is significantly down on pre-pandemic levels and we have responded to this by looking for alternative sources of business and cutting costs.
“Despite this trading in the aerospace division will remain challenging for some time.”
Carclo has also announced that Matt Durkin-Jones informed the Board of his intention to step down from his role as interim chief financial officer and as a director of the Board with effect from 17 December 2020.
He had joined the Board for an initial six-month term on 21 January 2020.
Sanders said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Matt for his service over the previous months. We extend him every good wish for the future.”
