Pittards back in profit
20 April 2010International tanning group Pittards, Yeovil, UK are back in the black with a full year pre-tax profit of £1.6m ($2,4m) compared with a loss of £0.4m (0,6m) in 2008. Revenues for the year to the end of December 2009 fell to £24.6m ($37.4), down from £26.8m ($40.7).
Pittards chairman Stephen Boyd said: ‘I advised the group's return to profitability in my first half-year statement at the post tax level, and I am delighted to report that this profitability carried through for the whole of 2009, despite the sustained global recession.’
Pittards say the continued relative weakness of sterling, and its continued focus on costs helped it to achieve a profit from trading activities of £0.8m ($1.2m) (2008: £1.4m ($2.1m)) despite some loss of volume in the first half of the year.
The group also benefited from an exceptional gain of £1m ($1.5) arising from the acquisition of the Ethiopia Tannery Share Company (ETSC) on December 29 (see Leather International, March page 40), which led to a profit before finance costs of £1.9m ($2.9) (2008: loss of £0.07m ($0.10m). Finance costs were also lower than incurred in 2008, due principally to a lower bank base rate.
