Portmeirion resilience adds brands and staff

Among its operational highlights, Portmeirion said the new Spode and Royal Worcester patterns accounted for 20% of sales; the manufacture of some Spode product had been brought back to the UK; the workforce had been increased by 9%, set against a 36% revenue increase; and the company's carbon footprint was now 47% lower than it was ten years ago. Chairman Dick Steele said Portmeirion was extremely pleased with its 2009 results which had seen revenues improve 36% to £43 milion (2008: £32m) and pre-tax profits climb to £3.7 million (2008: £1.1m). He went on: "The acquisition we made in April last year has transformed the prospects of the Group and added £1.5 million in revenue over and above the £7 million we said it would. The potential of the Spode and Royal Worcester brands is huge and we are especially delighted to be able to produce Blue Italian, which has been in existence for two centuries, again in the UK. "In the coming year we will continue to develop the brands with the emphasis on design and quality in order to generate long term sales increases. We will continue to drive sales, return on sales and dividend payments. "While not necessarily an indication of full year performance, revenues for the first two months of the current year have shown a 40% increase over the corresponding period last year." In a year described as one of significant change, in April Portmeirion acquired the rights to the Spode and Royal Worcester names and patterns for £2.2 million: an acquisition that "has transformed the prospects for the Group". And stimulated large orders from major American customers. Portmeirion said that it sourced products from the most appropriate sources for the item. In Stoke-on-Trent it produced high quality earthenware, and it was therefore appropriate to bring back Blue Italian and Woodland production from overseas where the previous owners of Spode had sourced it. Products such as Sophie Conran, made in porcelain, and Stafford Flowers, made in bone china, are sourced in the Far East. Over 40 new jobs were created in 2009, bringing the company's total headcount to 511; of those, 479 are in the UK and 32 in the USA. Looking ahead, Portmeirion said that although it was not necessarily an indication of full year performance, revenues for the first two months of 2010 were 40% above the corresponding period of last year.