Optare drives forward with confidence
BUS manufacturer Optare today said it is looking to the future with increased confidence as it anticipates a boost in UK demand and a bigger proportion of sales to come from export markets.
The Yorkshire business, which designs, manufactures and sells single deck and double deck buses supplying Continental Europe, North America and further afield, posted turnover for the six months to the end of September of £32.4m (H1 2012: £46.7m) which it said was primarily due to completion of kit exports in 2012. Lower demand in April and May of 2013 impacted the first half results, the group said. EBITDA losses reduced by 33% to (£0.8m) compared to (H1: 2012 loss of £1.2m).
The order book at the end of September was £22.5m, up from £19.4m in the same period last year and Optare said the company remains on plan to introduce its Double Decker product in Q1 next year, the launch of which the directors believe will enable Optare to participate in all UK product segments from Q1 2014 onwards.
Optare has been successful in winning initial orders in Australia for the whole single deck product range. Further sizeable orders are expected in 2014 through its dealers in Australia.
Optare said: “We are excited about the growth prospects and market demand in this part of the world for Optare’s products.
“The board still anticipates an increase in UK demand in 2014, particularly for single deck buses as the larger operating groups invest in new vehicles. Additionally, an increasing proportion of future sales are expected to come from export markets which will help to de-risk the group’s current dependency on a cyclical UK market.”
Optare said it has reduced headcount from 443 to 396 at the end of September and said further cost reduction programmes are in place to deliver over £1m of fixed costs savings in the full year of 2013/14.
John Fickling, Optare’s chairman, said: “I am pleased with the progress we have made to improve efficiency and reduce fixed costs. We continue to invest in people, innovation and new product opportunities for the UK and export markets we look to the future of the company with increased confidence.”
