Continued uncertainty clouds outlook for industrial equipment supplier
HC Slingsby, a distributor of industrial and commercial equipment, says it is struggling to forecast the next few months amidst fears over impacts of the Ukraine war, potential recession, Brexit and the pandemic aftermath.
In its report for the half year ended 30 June 2023, the Baildon-based group reports revenues of £11.5m (H1 2022: £11m) and pre-tax profits of £197,000 (H1 2022: £244,000).
The group had net cash of £0.4m at 30 June 2023 (£0.5m at 30 June 2022) compared to £0.03m at 31 December 2022.
Dominic Slingsby, interim executive chairman and operations director, said the unsettled economic climate means the business is having to adopt a cautious outlook.
He added: “The market continues to be highly competitive, and it remains unclear what impact the aforementioned factors will have on demand going forward.
“Inflationary pressures remain, particularly in regards to overheads and this is considered by the directors likely to persist for the remainder of the year.
“In the current economic environment, there is also heightened potential for credit related issues should customers become insolvent.”
Slingsby says that in June it was notified that one of its main logistics partners had ceased trading, subsequently entering insolvency proceedings.
This caused some disruption to operations and increased freight costs during that month because alternative transport options came at a higher cost.
The group says this had a “modest” impact upon its gross margin in June and an effect on gross margin could persist during the remainder of the year, despite the company implementing mitigating initiatives.
Slingsby adds its Board believes it would benefit from the appointment of new non-executive directors. The Board therefore aims to appoint new non-executive directors and a non-executive chairman.
