With sales to hospitality customers increasing by 10% to a new record level of £52.5mln, Churchill China announced this week that the company beat their expected results once again in 2018.
“2018 has been a very successful year for Churchill, we have exceeded our expectations in relation to business and financial performance,” said chairman Alan McWalter. “2019 has started well and we believe that we can make further progress.”
Profit before exceptional items and tax jumped 26% to £9.4mln last year on revenue up 7% to £57.5mln as a strong performance in hospitality exports offset lower retail sales. Export sales were up 19%. Total export sales represent 60 percent of total Churchill turnover.
Retail sales fell 16% to £5.1mln primarily due to a challenging UK market, which led Churchill to exit unprofitable sectors in the nation.
The company also announced that it is planning a major investment to increase manufacturing over the next 12 months, as reported in the local news. These plans are to include additional factory space and a new, fast-fire kiln.
Chairman McWalter told The Sentinel newspaper, “We expect to increase the level of investment in manufacturing in 2019. Expenditure on a further factory extension and on an additional fast fire kiln have already been approved and we expect to make progress on these and other projects over the year.”
Ahead of Brexit, the company has been stockpiling key materials and has set up a logistics facility in the Netherlands to service its European businesses.
In announcing the results, Churchill said while its contingency plan for disorderly Brexit may not fully offset the impact of the UK’s departure from the European Union, the company believes it has taken the proper steps that will help manage any effects from Brexit.
