Encouraging start for restructured Chamberlin
Chamberlin, the specialist castings and engineering group, says it has made an encouraging start to the 2021-2022 financial year.
The Walsall business has undergone restructuring and refinancing following the loss of a major contract late last year.
The company now expects to publish audited accounts for the 14 months to the end of May in late November with revenue of £26 million and a loss of not less than £4m.
It expects to see stronger levels of sales growth in the current year and a return to profitability in the second half of year.
Group sales for the first quarter were in line with management's expectations.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to present global challenges to trading conditions, including escalating raw material costs, supply chain shortages and a slowdown in the automotive industry due to widely publicised electronic control unit availability. In response to these challenges, the management team is continuing to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
The company is directing resources to new product lines to rapidly reduce reliance on the automotive industry.
It is developing a premium quality cast iron Emba cookware range and expects to officially launch its initial product range online in November. Iron Foundry Weights, Chamberlin's new trading name for its specialist home and commercial gym equipment business, is developing rapidly. Next month will see the release of its new range of precision machined "indestructible" dumbbells.
Petrel, Chamberlin's specialist lighting business, is trading profitably and exceeding the board's expectations with a very strong start to the year. Petrel's performance in the second half of the year will be improved further by the start of a new venture into specialist lighting hire next month.
