North East defence specialist William Cook stormed ahead with soaring sales last year amid a booming global defence market.
The sixth generation, family-owned William Cook group produces components for the rail, defence and energy sectors.
Its site in Stanhope, County Durham, is the epicentre of its defence operations and home to three businesses – Cook Defence Systems, William Cook Stanhope and William Cook Intermodal – all of which chalked up rising revenue for the period ended June 30 2018.
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Armoured tank specialist Cook Defence Systems, a Ministry of Defence supplier which manufactures tracks for military vehicles, saw its revenues soar by 35% from £13.5m to £18.2m in the period, while profit for the year also rose by an impressive 58%, from £1.5m to £2.4m.
Directors said: “Despite setbacks in other economic areas the global defence sector remains robust and the position of the company as the only independent designer and supplier of armoured vehicle tracks in the world positions it perfectly to take full advantage of this.”
During the financial year the engineering company announced it was supplying its custom-designed tracks for an allied regional power in the Middle East in a deal worth £3m.
It said it was also manufacturing tracks worth £2m for a friendly nation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Meanwhile William Cooke Stanhope, which designs and makes steel products, saw its turnover rise from £11.6m to £14.6m.
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The operating loss widened from £193,255 to £914,605 and gross profit came in at £1.023m, compared to the previous year’s £1.959m, reflecting cost pressures on raw materials, labour costs and utilities.
Directors said they were confident for the long term prospects for the business, saying it was “well established and focussed on specialist markets”, and that it is transitioning from traditional markets, servicing industries dedicated to extracting business commodities from the ground, to the specialist defence markets.
Meanwhile William Cook Intermodal, which designs and manufacture components for the freight sector, posted turnover of £892,465, up from £644,558, while profit for the period almost doubled from £69,167 to £134,030.
In the parent company’s accounts, chairman Sir Andrew Cook said: “Our defence business has remained proftable despite falling demand for defence equipment and an almost worldwide squeeze on defence spending. The forward order book is solid and there remains significant scope for margin increase.”
Sir Andrew also used the accounts to round on the Government for its decision to use overseas firms in its new rail projects, and he also provided an update on changes at its Leeds plant.
He said: “Our Leeds-based rail business has been impeded by the British Government’s insistence on importing ready-made new trains from Japan, Spain and Switzerland with no requirement for British content.
“Despite continuing selling efforts to the original equipment manufacturers, in the absence of any contractual requirement to the contrary the train-builders have preferred to stay with their established domestic supply chain. Accordingly the gleaming new trains which will shortly adorn many of the 海角视频’s trunk and commuter routes contain few if any William Cook products.
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“In contrast, and in a sense perversely, new trains as far afield as Canada and Kazakhstan would not be running without their significant William Cook content.
“Recognising that in the rain business Britain’s future is more in repair and maintenance than new build, the Leeds plant is currently in the throes of expanding its successful coupler refurbishment business.”