MANUFACTURING firm, Pryme Group, has reported increased turnover in its latest annual report.
In its financial statement for the year ending March 31, 2020, Pryme Group Holdings Ltd recorded turnover of £18.5million with gross profit of £3.26m; compared to revenue of £17.3m and gross profit of £2.57m in 2019.
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The business, which is headquartered in Dundee and has operations across the UK, including one in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, provides integrated manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries, including the energy sector.
The firm said that it was in a better position to weather the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic following significant restructuring and cost reductions undertaken to improve the profitability of the business.
Despite some positive signs of recovery from the protracted oil and gas downturn, trading conditions continued to be challenging as a significant portion of the group’s revenue is generated from customers in this market.
Kerrie Murray, Pryme Group chief executive officer, said: “With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic post year-end, Pryme Group swiftly adapted its operational sites and working practices to ensure safe continuity of operations and delivery of its backlog commitments entering financial year 2021.
“We also restructured our operations in anticipation of lower activity levels, particularly from oil and gas-based customers. We believe that with the restructure and diversity of the customer base across multiple industrial sectors, the group has enhanced its resilience level for what is expected to be a challenging market as the economy continues to recover.
“Against this backdrop, I’m extremely proud of how the team has pulled together and adapted to working throughout the past several months. Together with growth in our turnover and increased gross profit during the latest financial year, it demonstrates the resilience of our business in these unprecedented times.”
Pryme Group continued to focus on increasing manufacturing efficiency to maintain margins and position itself to benefit as and when the market improves. As a result, the operating cash loss for the year was £1,662k (2019: loss £2,399) an improvement of £737k, or 31%.
The business also invested more than £700,000 in new machinery, to improve operational efficiency, while there was an estimated spend of £1.87m as it continued to invest in research and development to offer a wider range of products to its customers.
Kerrie added: “These efforts have resulted in a considerable improvement in trading performance and the group is better placed to weather tougher market conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We continue to enjoy demand for our services from a broad customer base, including those operating in aerospace and defence, while the pandemic has accelerated our entry into new markets such as the pharmaceutical and healthcare equipment sectors.”
