‘Difficult market’: Widney

Reporting the company’s results for the six months ended 31 March, chairman, Joe Grimmond, said it had been a steady start to the year with good operational performance and reassuring signs for potential growth. “However,” he went on, “the current market conditions are difficult so we are actively managing our cost base to bring it into line with levels of demand." The company declared a pre-tax profit of £105,000 for the period (2007: loss £3.4m) on revenue of £15.35 million (2007: £17.5m) and said it had continued investment in design, training and manufacturing The half year, said Grimmond, was a period of continuing consolidation with considerable effort focused on developing existing customer and supplier relationships which remained strong despite the impact of subsidiary Widney Cabs being placed into administration. “Throughout the period we have maintained our reputation for the quality of our product and people and continued to invest in design, “Substantial” new business had been awarded since the start of this year and this equated to an annualised turnover of some £6 million, although long project lead times meant that the benefit from the new business would only come through in the last quarter of this financial year and be realised fully in the next. “Although we are reassured by this order intake we are conscious of the current economic conditions and the impact that they may have on both current and new business,” Grimmond continued. “To ensure that our operational focus is maintained through this period we appointed Andrew Wingfield as Group Operations Director on 16th April 2008.” Widney UK had performed well and maintained a high level of export sales despite the strength of sterling and it continued to research new market sectors, introduce new products and develop new customers. However, Widney Pressings had been the recipient of most of the new business that has been awarded, having successfully introduced the Jaguar S Type aftermarket project and commissioned a new roller hemming facility. The company was now firmly established as the leading provider of automotive aftermarket solutions in the UK. During the period Widney re-established a painting and fabrication facility in Northampton. Turnover during the period was £1.1 million and the current run rate is around £3 million a year. The last six months has been a period of investment and we expect the facility to be profitable next year. “It has been a steady start to the year with good operational performance and reassuring signs for potential growth. However the current market conditions are difficult and we therefore remain cautious and will actively manage our cost base to keep it in line with demand,” concluded Grimmond.