Cautious outlook despite sales rise at industrial equipment business
Industrial equipment supplier, Slingsby, has reported pre-tax profits of £1.1m (2019: £0.2m) in its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2020.
The listed Baildon-based business recorded revenues of £21.8m (2019: £19.6m) and Group EBITDA of £1.7m (2019: £0.9m).
It attributes the increase in its sales to demand for Coronavirus related products, as customers sought to continue or restart their operations compliantly.
Largely as a result of the profit performance, the Group had net cash at 31 December 2020 of £0.3m (2019: net debt of £1.1m).
Dominic Slingsby, interim executive chairman, said: “The market remains competitive and we are cautious regarding the outlook.
“This is particularly the case due to significant uncertainty that remains caused by the Coronavirus.
“Whilst the Group’s sales grew in 2020 due to demand for Coronavirus related products, this will not necessarily continue to be the case, particularly for items which are more capital equipment in nature.
“The Group also benefited from disruption to supply chains which led to it receiving orders for virus related products during 2020 which will not repeat in 2021.
“As such, it is unclear as to the impact that the virus will have on demand going forward.
“In addition, the Group is experiencing significant cost increases particularly for steel, plastic and timber products.
“We have also experienced exceptionally high shipping costs and delays in receiving goods. These increases impacted on gross margin in quarter one 2021 and could continue for the remainder of the year.”
