Sales improve for Walsall castings group Chamberlin

The £10.5 million for the six months to the end on November compared to £8m a year earlier.

It made an underlying pre-tax loss of £300,000 for the period which its aims to address through price increases and cost savings.

Chairman, Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, said: “All operating businesses within the group are now operationally profitable, with new opportunities for growth continuing to emerge, the most significant being the newly reinvigorated Petrel."

Petrel in Birmingham, which makes lighting products, has strong orders.

New contracts won by Chamberlin and Hill Castings in Chuckery Road are starting in the second half of the year and Russell Ductile Castings in Scunthorpe also has strong order books.

Chamberlin said it was entering a “period of continuous growth with all businesses profitable” in January.

Talks are underway for a proposed sale and leaseback transaction of its Walsall freehold property with an offer made worth £2.2m. The sale would include a proportion of any funds to be used to further reduce the company’s pension fund deficit.

Petrel's new management team, led by divisional managing director Mark Pemberton, has overseen a substantial increase in operating performance. The team are now seeking to build on this strong base and have developed a strategy for Petrel that will involve entry into new export markets and sectors such as pharmaceutical and oil and gas.