Better last quarter for Aga as ‘rationalisation’ continues

In a trading update, Aga Rangemaster said order intake for the full year was 12% below 2008 having been around 20% down in the first half of the year but improving order levels meant that order books finished the year above those of a year ago. Cast iron cooker sales were well down in the year although orders and home surveys for the Aga and Rayburn brands were up in the last quarter. Rangemaster had a good second half which left order intake for the full year just ahead of 2008 having been around 14% lower at the half year. In North America orders were still weak although a lower cost base following factory rationalisation enabled the group's refrigeration business to trade at breakeven in the second half of the year. Fired Earth orders remained down on a year ago as customers deferred major projects in an uncertain market. Rationalisation programmes continued across the Group – notably with further integration of the Aga and Rangemaster operations in the UK – and those measures have brought cost reductions of over £9 million over the last two years. The company also continued to take steps to manage the costs of its pension scheme. The pensionable salaries of higher paid employees were frozen at the end of 2009 and those of the wider membership are being frozen in 2010. Chief executive William McGrath (pictured) said the group cut costs in the difficult markets of 2009 while continuing to invest in products "which leaves us well placed in an upturn". "The cold weather highlights the virtues of our modern ranges of cast iron cookers, all-in-one cookers and boilers and stoves," he went on. "The bounce in Rangemaster sales has been particularly encouraging. Caution, however, remains appropriate in the current economic climate."