By Scott Wright
THE commercial arm of CR Smith has returned to profit as the manufacturer bounced back from factory closures due to Covid in its previous financial year.
Directors of CR Smith (Manufacturing) hailed its “resilience” and efficient cost control as new accounts show it made a profit of £282,828 in the year to August 31, following a loss of £259,227 the previous time. The company, which makes windows, doors and conservatories for CR Smith’s domestic business, returned to the black as turnover increased to £7.7 million from £5.8m. Accounts for the previous year had shown the effects of two periods of lockdown, with turnover tumbling to £5.8m from £10.8m.
CR Smith (Manufacturing), which operates from a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Fife, is the sister company of CR Smith Glaziers (Dunfermline).
George Eadie, director of CR Smith (Manufacturing) said: “Having had to close the factory in 2020 due to the pandemic, and then again in early 2021, the return to profitability in the financial year ending August 2021 shows the underlying resilience of the company and our ability to react quickly to the opportunities that do exist.”
He went on: “Market demand remains higher than immediately before the first lockdown and with a significant order book we are confident that we will build on the current position.
“Staff numbers dropped slightly due to the two periods of closure. But with a new recruitment campaign in place across the whole range of skills required within the manufacturing business, we will rapidly return to pre-Covid levels and above. We give our sincere thanks to our team of staff at the factory who, over a challenging 24 months, have responded positively when asked.”
The accounts show CR Smith (Manufacturing) employed an average of 71 people in the period to August 31, down from 85 the previous time.
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