Financial Highlights
|
|
Unaudited Half Year to |
Unaudited Half Year to |
Audited Year Ended |
|
|
31st October |
31st October |
30th April |
|
|
2017 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
|
£'m |
£'m |
£'m |
|
Consolidated Results |
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
61.9 |
69.9 |
131.6 |
|
Operating profit |
6.4 |
6.5 |
9.9 |
|
Profit before tax |
6.1 |
6.0 |
9.2 |
|
Profit after tax |
4.4 |
4.2 |
6.8 |
|
Capital Expenditure |
4.0 |
3.2 |
7.6 |
|
Earnings per share (Basic and Diluted) |
58.38p |
54.53p |
84.47p |
Turnover
Sales revenue of £61,893,000 for the half year represents an 11.4% decrease from the £69,889,000 achieved during the same period last year.
Profit Before Tax
Profit before tax for the six months of £6,108,000 is up 1.0% from the £6,047,000 achieved for the same six month period last year.
Risks and Uncertainties
The Group, mainly through its centralised management structure, makes best endeavours to have in place internal control procedures to identify and manage the key risks and uncertainties affecting the Group. We would refer you to page 8 of the Group Annual Accounts to 30th April 2017 which describes the principal risks and uncertainties, and to note 20 (page 52) which describes in detail the key financial risks and uncertainties affecting the business such as credit risk and foreign exchange risk.
Judging the future relationship of the major currency pairs of the US Dollar, Sterling and the Euro continues to be a challenge.
Report on Expected Developments
This report describes the expected developments of the Group during the year ended 30th April 2018. The report may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations, and assumptions and forecasts made by the Group. These expectations and assumptions are subject to various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could lead to substantial differences between the actual future results, financial performance and the estimates and historical results given in this report.
Many of these factors are outside the Group's control. The Group accepts no liability to publicly revise or update these forward-looking statements or adjust them to future events or developments, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
2018/19 Outlook
Despite the continued shortage of work within our foundry, where we have been taking the opportunity of enhancing our facility and capacity in this quiet period of activity, we expect the Group overall to start showing improved profitability and cash flow by the financial year end 30th April 2018.
This improvement is a feature of a continued expansion of activity and profitability in the refractory engineering part of the Group especially in our eight companies that supply consumables to the jewellery casting industry which, in line with the world economy overall, is in a period of revival. The performance of these refractory companies has also been enhanced by the demise of our major world competitor based in the USA, who was the world leader 20 years ago. In September 2017 they finally closed their doors, which has resulted in a substantial surge in order input for our price-competitive, consistent products that we have developed a global reputation for supplying.
As mentioned in the year end accounts to 30th April 2017, excellent progress is being made in India where there is significant growth in the overall economy and our submersible pump company and jewellery investment powder company are expected to achieve record trading results for the year ending 30th April 2018. The results in our Indian submersible pump company are also benefitting from sales orders arriving from our newly formed pump company in South Africa, which we are pleased to report will make respectable profits and sales in its first full year of trading.