Caravan and motorhome manufacturer Swift Group has reported a £7.3 million loss after Covid wiped away almost half a year of trading - resulting in a sales fall of 44 per cent.
Turnover came in at £145.5 million in the year to the end of August 2020, down from £260.9 million in 2019, when a profit of £9.5 million was made by the East Yorkshire giant.
In the results just published, the Cottingham firm revealed it had also called on £9.5 million in furlough support to preserve employment, while also reducing headcount by 101 in the financial year.
As of the end of August it employed 1,039 people, with bosses confident of a robust return.
Director James Turner said: “The current year has presented a significant number of challenges including the Covid-19 pandemic, the 海角视频 General Election and the economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit, yet despite this the directors believe the company is now in a much stronger financial position and the same time last year.
“The trading environment, directly affected by the lockdown measures imposed by the 海角视频 government, meant that for a substantial period of the year, production of units alongside the platform to sell products to the ultimate retail customer and not be undertaken. Whilst these measures affected the year, the directors believe that ultimately the lack of production has seen the market rebalance the supply and demand dynamics and as a result believe the period ahead will be one of growth.”
He said challenges remained, not least ensuring the supply chain could continue to deliver materials, but said: “The company's underlying sales order book for the upcoming year remains as strong as ever with the product line-up and service offering well placed to compete in its chosen markets.
“The overall volume of stock in the market is at unprecedented low levels due to the cessation of production across the industry during the spring and summer months. This aspect combined with the anticipated growth in the 海角视频 vacation market leads the directors to believe the upcoming year will yield significant improvement in performance.”
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An £800,000 hit on the closure of a site at Mexborough, South Yorkshire, was also revealed, as it became a single site operation. No dividend has been paid on the year.
And touching on the job losses, most of which were in production, Mr Turner said: “Despite the best efforts of the company to retain as many jobs as possible, the decision was taken by the directors to undergo a restructure of operations during August 2020. As part of the restructure it was regrettable that a number of roles had to be removed.
"These actions, however, have no doubt aided in preservation of the company's ability to trade for the long-term and bring about future profitability.”
The second lockdown, in the new financial year, saw production maintained “with no material impact on volumes,” with accounts signed off in December, prior to the third.
The results come as pre-pandemic showed a sluggish time in the market, with big ticket purchases held off amid political uncertainty. With the influx of orders new factories have sprung up for other operators constrained by space to meet the stated demand - not least Rix Group's Victory, Atlas and Sunseeker.
Jobs created far outweigh those lost in the sector at the pandemic outset.