International growth keeps Communisis positive

Marketing services business Communisis has said that international expansion is on the cards and that the company is “Brexit resilient” on the heels of strong results.

Revenues for the year to December 2016 increased by 2% to £361.9m, but pre-tax profits dropped by one third, to £11.6m.

Chief executive Andy Blundell spoke to TheBusinessDesk.com following this morning’s announcement.

“The overall message this year is positive,” he said. “The highlights for us are the growth in profitability, and the other point which is high on investors’ radar is the dividend, increased by a further 10%.

“We have anounced several new long term contracts, including one for major healthcare provider and Sony Europe. The HMRC deal particularly means we will be producing some of that work in our Copley site near Halifax, the old HBOS operation.”

This commitment to the region is an ongoing feature of Communisis, with 40% of its 2,000 staff located at sites in Leeds and Copley.

International growth is also driving the business forward, having increased work overseas so that it now accounts for 26% of its revenues.

Blundell added: “Internationally, seven years ago Communisis didn’t have any business outside the UK. Now it’s increased to 26% of total revenue and our presence is as far east as Dubai and Istanbul.

“Across the Atlantic, we have established a New York office – it’s a small operation at the moment but we are interested in the American market more generally.”