Inditherm moves into profit for first time
INNOVATIVE heating company Inditherm said that it had moved into profit for the first time in its history after changing its focus to more industrial markets.
The company, which supplies heating systems for football pitches and mattresses for premature babies, posted pre-tax profits of £22,000 compared to a loss of £287,000 the previous year.
Announcing its interim results the company said group turnover had increased by 43% to 1.2m compared to £880,000 in 2007.
In particular the company said it had been boosted in the first half of 2008 from the delivery of launch stocks to Smiths Medical in the USA.
The Rotherham-based company has designed a range of products which have applications in a number of areas including sewage sludge pipes, chocolate manufacturing and concrete curing blankets.
Overall Inditherm said orders for the medical business were growing at a rate of above 45% which it expects to maintain.
However the news was not all positive.
Chairman Mark Abrahams said he expects the company to make a loss in the second half of the year, but he added that a strong performance from the medical division should ensure the company breaks even for the “foreseeable future.”
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recently released a guideline that recommends patient warming before, during and after surgery.
The recommendation has stimulated an increased interest from the NHS for its products.
Inditherm’s neo-natal CosyTherm product is now a UK market leader and is attracting interest in the North American market – a significant market which the company intends to target in the future.
Mr Abrahams said: “This has been a significant period for Inditherm and we are very pleased to announce our first pre-tax profit, albeit modest. We have improved our margins and quality of business which means that we can reach break-even at a lower level of sales. Our change in focus in the industrial markets has delivered considerably improved margins although orders are down as anticipated during this initial period. A clear strategy is now in place that should provide the basis for moving forward.”
Inditherm said it had completed the installation of the under-pitch heating for the Aston Villa training ground – but said that whilst it had received tentative enquiries for pitch-heating projects it did not anticipate any orders in the second half of 2008.
