Ongoing investments at Northumberland manufacturing giant Egger UK Ltd have helped to lift turnover by 9%.
The Hexham wood panel maker shrugged off Brexit uncertainties as it published accounts for the year ended April 30 2018, posting the rise in turnover from £259m to £282m, while Ebitda also rose by 40% to £46.3m. Operating profit went up from £25.7m to £29.7m.
Net assets of the firm increased to £85.4m due thanks to the financial year profit of £20.6m and dividend payment of £8.8m being transferred to reserves.
Directors said the solid increases follow continued investments at its UK sites, which have benefited from more than £100m since 2012, as well as investments in people.
The firm said that part of the increase is due to significant increases in raw material costs, especially wood. However, the business made gains from its increased mix of higher value-added products sold.
Bob Livesey, commercial director at Egger Western European division, said: “This is a credit to the ongoing investments we continue to make in new technologies, new production machinery, and in industry-leading and ultra-realistic decors and textures.
“During the year we invested more than £15m, meaning that we have now invested more than £100m in our UK operations in the past six years.”
Clare Ball, human resources country manager said: “We also continue to invest in our now 800 strong UK workforce.
“Our award-winning apprenticeship scheme has meant that more than 10% of our workforce is either currently in an apprenticeship with us or has already qualified through our apprenticeship schemes.
“We are dedicated in offering training to all of our employees through our in-house ‘Kompakt’ training sessions which are delivered by internal trainers.
“Since its inception in 2016, our employees have dedicated more than 1,000 days to these training sessions. As can be seen in the financial statements, we also introduced an enhanced Long Service Rewards scheme for all our employees, reiterating further our commitment and appreciation to our workforce.”
Bernd Steinlechner, finance and administration director at Egger Western European division, said: “Despite the current uncertain economic outlook, mainly due to Brexit, we feel well placed to sustain our market position based on our mix of customers, ongoing re-investments in production technologies, industry-leading product range including our EGGER Decorative Collection launched in January 2017, and our high levels of service.”
