John Cotton enjoys sales growth
THE demise of a competitor has helped John Cotton Group grow turnover to more than £120m.
The bedding manufacturer saw an 8.4 increase in sales which the company attributed to the collapse of Slumberdown Enterprises, one of its main UK competitors.
However, the Mirfield-based company also had to shoulder almost £1m of bad debts in the year to the end of February as a result of bed manufacturer Silentnight going into administration.
Pre-tax profits for the year fell from £3.6m to £2.34m as operating profit declined from £3.78m to £2.37m.
The group’s latest directors’ report says: “Maintenance of the group’s gross margins continues to be a major concern as a result of customer selling price pressures and inflationary price pressures on key raw materials.
“Raw material prices continue to be extremely volatile.”
The majority of the company’s business remains in the UK although sales in Europe grew to £10.75m.
