De-stocking and weak zloty unravels profits at Robinson

Announcing its results today (26 August) for the six months ended 30 June, the company reported revenue down 15% from £11.3 million for the same period last year to £9.65 million this time and a pre-tax loss of £966,000 (2008: profit of £127,000) Chairman Richard Clothier described the decrease as disappointing although stronger revenues were expected in the second half. "The reduction in revenue seen in the second quarter was the result of significant destocking by some of our customers, particularly in the toiletries and cosmetics sectors," he went on to report. "Some of these have since increased their offtake, however, our North American demand remains weak. Polymer price reductions which were passed on to customers also contributed to the reduction in revenue. Revenues in the food and drink sector held up better, but there was some movement by consumers from the premium brands towards 'value' ranges with the effect on our business of reduced revenues and margins. A reduction in overheads, achieved through reorganisation in 2008, was masked by the effect of currency exchange rates arising from the weakness of the Polish zloty which has strengthened since the end of the period." Robinson, which is based in Chesterfield, has additional manufacturing facilities in Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Stanton Hill (Nottinghamshire) in Toronto (Canada) and in Lodz (Poland) and counts the likes of Proctor & Gamble, Nestlé, Cadbury, Northern Foods, Masterfoods, Bakkavor, Unilever, Avon and Chivas among its customers.