Automotive supplier reveals first half loss
Automotive supplier Autins Group, whose long-serving chief executive quit in February after it emerged the firm had over-estimated the strength of its business, has announced an operating loss of £0.28m for the first half.
The figure compares with a profit of £0.35m for the first half of 2016.
The Warwickshire-based group saw 30% wiped off the value of the business in February when former chief executive Jim Griffin resigned after it emerged that a major customer’s decision to revise volumes was likely to lead to materially lower results than market expectations.
The group had braced shareholders in March to expect lower than anticipated levels of growth in 2017 and so it has proved.
The company, which manufactures specialist insulation materials predominantly for the automotive and rail sectors and counts Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover, Honda and VW Group amongst its customers, said that in the six months to March 31, revenue had increased by 14.7% to £12.25m (H1 2016: £10.68m).
However, adjusted EBITDA was £0.54m (H1 2016: £0.64m) and the reported loss after tax was £0.16m (H1 2016 profit: £0.15m). This resulted in a loss per share of 0.72p (H1 2016 earnings: 1.14p). Nevertheless, it declared an interim dividend of 0.4p per share.
The results also show the group incurred exceptional costs in the period of £0.14m (2016: Nil) as a result of the resignation of Mr Griffin. Legal and professional costs were £0.06m (2016: Nil) in relation to the change of bank finance providers.
New chief executive Michael Jennings was bullish in his comments.
He said: “I am pleased that the group’s interim results demonstrate the essence of our growth strategy by delivering solid top line growth while continuing to improve gross margins. Our investment programme remains on track and will ensure we are positioned to fulfil our growth plans ahead.”
