(Alliance News) - Industrial fastenings firm Trifast PLC said Tuesday the firm's actions in these uncertain times have been "resilient", yet revenue dipped modestly while pretax profit plummeted.
For the year to the end of March Trifast reported revenue fell by 4.2% to GBP200.2 million from GBP209.0 million the year before. Pretax profit meanwhile, dropped by 81% to GBP3.0 million from GBP16.4 million a year earlier.
The East Sussex-based company said it continued to face "challenging market conditions" coupled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, producing revenue declines across nearly all regions including UK, Europe and Asia.
Trifast, however, reported one exception with double digit growth in the US by 19% to GBP10.7million from GBP9.0 million, as a result of market share wins in the automotive sector.
The company faces increasing net debt of GBP30.3 million up from GBP14.2 million a year prior. A large segment of this net debt is due to the firm's share placing that raised GBP15 million to help mitigate the impacts of Covid-19, back in June.
Also, in order to strengthen the "firms financial position and flexibility" the company has decided to forgo dividends this financial year.
The company remains optimistic as sites are ready to reopen and said: "Looking further ahead, we strongly believe that the combination of our reputation for Trusted Reliability, our flexible and established global supplier networks, and our balance sheet strength will put us in a great position to make the most of both the organic and M&A opportunities that are likely to arise as the competitor landscape shifts and demand returns to the market."
Trifast shares were up 2.1% at 116.35 pence each on Tuesday afternoon in London.
By Neetika Kurup; neetikakurup@alliancenews.com
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Trifast (TRI)