MANUFACTURING FIRM UPBEAT DESPITE WIDENING LOSSES

Release Time：09 Feb,2017

Barnsley-based manufacturing giant Koyo Bearings Europe Ltd has slipped further into the red and suffered a drop in revenue after being hit by adverse exchange rates. However, the company remained upbeat about the coming months. Koyo Bearings Europe Ltd is part of the wider Koyo Group and manufactures, sells and distributes a range of automotive bearings. For the year to 31 March 2016, revenue was down from £56.8m to £47.6m. The company's pre-tax losses widened from £2.31m to £3.79m. Koyo said its sales figure had fallen short of the business plan, with the main factor in the drop being adverse exchange rates. "A significant proportion of the negative position for the year was due to single items that will not roll forward into the next financial year," it added. "The rationalisation of the product range, which included the removal of poor margin products, was the main improvement activity for the year although there were some further initiatives to reduce the cost base. "In general these have been successful and will see a positive and ongoing impact for the future." Koyo believes there might be "some benefit" from a more favourable exchange rate over the coming year and also discussed the potential implications of Brexit. "The uncertain UK/European relationship is likely to have an impact on our business but customer relationships in both economic areas remain positive," it added. "Our cost management measures have been generally successful and we believe will lead to a positive position for 2016/17."