Pittards profits up, despite “severe raw material price inflation”
20/09/2011
Pittards had finance costs of £200,000, slightly higher than for the first half of last year, but Mr Boyd attributed this to the group’s investment in more in plant, property and equipment in its various operations “to support the recovery and increased demand for our products”.
Revenue for the six months totalled £20.3 million, an improvement of 22% on 2010, reflecting a strong order book, and despite the dollar being 6% weaker than in the corresponding period in 2010. Export sales represented 94% of revenue, up slightly from the 92% figure for the same period last year. “The increased revenue is fairly evenly spread across the product range,” Pittards said. “Sales of sheepskin- and goat-based products benefitted from early winter cold spells in UK and the US, which led customers to restock pipelines. Demand for sports glove leathers was also strong. Sales of hide based products were similarly robust with the military and services sector faring well alongside sport and casual footwear.”
An expansion of the company’s retail outlet at its headquarters in Somerset will open this autumn. Pittards has said increasing its presence in the consumer product arena is an important part of its strategy. Subsidiary leathergoods brand Daines and Hathaway is gaining ground in its sector with a number of new customers and a renewed presence in the US, Pittards said. In addition, new ranges of leather garments, created by an in-house design team, launched at the PURE show in London in August.
A garment production unit in Ethiopia has just moved to larger rented premises pending the completion of a new factory on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. The company is also in the process of training glove makers in Ethiopia to service a new order for industrial gloving from a prominent US based wholesaler.
Work on improving animal husbandry in Ethiopia to improve skin quality and meat yield and quality continues with GIZ (the German agency for sustainable international development) and Pittards is now seeking two or more farms to establish its own flocks.
The company has been named as one of six finalists in the PricewaterhouseCooper West of England Business of the Year Awards in June. The judges were looking for performance against six criteria, including innovation, business management and contribution to the region and were complimentary about the tanning group. It has also been shortlisted for two categories in the UK Fashion and Textiles Awards, which will take place in October.
“There is some uncertainty about the strength of global demand in the coming months and we continue to face inflationary pressures on raw materials,” Mr Boyd concluded. “However our order book remains strong, our relationships with key customers are good and our offshore presence enables us to manufacture in lower-cost environments, all of which provide some resilience against adverse conditions.”
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