1st Dental’s turnaround strategy on course as profits predicted
YORKSHIRE-BASED 1st Dental Laboratories, the UK’s largest and leading provider of laboratory products to the dental profession, today said its turnaround strategy was on course as the company predicts profits.
Grahame Sewell, chairman of the Harrogate group, said that the company’s trading is in line with management’s expectations and the group’s annual budget.
Mr Sewell said: “On March 23, I reported in my chairman’s statement that the board’s priority was to manage a turnaround which can be sustainable and is not just a quick fix. We are driving a turnaround strategy. We are managing cultural change throughout the group’s trading operations. The group’s key objective is to re-build shareholder trust.”
He added: “The focus is to manage the group’s existing operations more efficiently. This is being achieved through providing improved customer service and choice to the group’s dental clients. The group continues to improve productivity in the laboratory operations while maintaining tight control over central costs. The objective is to be able to report a trading profit in this financial year.”
1st Dental is expected to meet this target and show a trading profit. In the half year to May 31 2009, the group reported a loss before tax of £315,000.
In the current half year to May 31, the firm expects a return to profitability. The company said that the second half of the financial year is traditionally stronger than the first half because of seasonal factors.
