Chamberlin loss reduced as sales improve
Foundry group Chamberlin reduced its pre-tax loss by 68.9 per cent in the six months to the end of September.
The loss improved from £534,000 a year before to £166,000 on revenue that rose by 21.3 per cent to £17.4 million.
The increased sales mainly reflected increased production volumes of turbo charger bearing housings.
Foundries revenue at it Walsall ans Scunthorpe sites was up by 24 per cent to £15.4m with the Walsall machining facility contributing 2.8m, up from £800,000 a year before, and engineering up 3.3 per cent to £1.9m.
Last week the Walsall-based group completed the sale of Exidor, its Cannock-based engineering business, for £10m to Assa Abloy.
The group said inefficiencies in the foundry division were now resolved and it expects to deliver an improved performance in the second half of the financial year despite the trading backdrop being difficult.
Chairman Keith Butler-Wheelhouse said: "Production volumes at our foundry operations rose significantly over the period, reflecting the ramping up of major contracts and the increasing use of turbo chargers in both hybrid vehicles and petrol engine cars to improve fuel efficiency.
"However, while revenues rose strongly, foundry margins were significantly affected by production issues."
Mr Butler-Wheelhouse said the sale of the Exidor business has significantly strengthened the group's financial position, reducing both net debt and pension liabilities and providing additional working capital.
"We remain focused on the further development of our core operations," he added.
