HC Slingsby puts hopes in new catalogue

INDUSTRIAL products company HC Slingsby said today that despite the tough economic climate it had enjoyed an “encouraging first quarter”.

Announcing its interim results for the half year ended June 2008 the company posted a pre-tax profit for the six months ended 30 June 2008 of £826,000 compared to £726,000 the previous year.

However the Shipley-based group said the current conditions are beginning to take effect with turnover only marginally ahead of the previous year, with overheads as a proportion of turnover remaining broadly the same.

HC Slingsby’s products are used across a wide range of industries including factories, supermarkets, hospitals, airlines, nurseries and schools.

The group’s catalogue features a range of over 35,000 essential products for the workplace.

The group said it had re-vamped its main catalogue, and whilst it is too early to gauge the effect the board feels that new look will enable customers to find products quicker and easier than before.

HC Slingsby was established in 1893, when the family firm Wholesale Bottlers began to look into the invention of labour saving devices for the company.

The company went public in 1961 and remains a family business with several members of the Slingsby family sitting on the board of directors .

The board announced a dividend of 8p up 1p from the previous year.