Ideal Boilers has posted an 11 per cent increase in sales in its latest financial results.
The Hull headquartered business broke through the £300 million turnover mark for the first time, up from £289.5 million to £322.4 million.
It mirrored the previous year’s growth, and means £100 million has been added to company revenues in five years under the ownership of Groupe Atlantic.
Operating profit and employment followed suit, up 10.3 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively, as an 886-strong team brought in a £63.2 million operating profit at the National Avenue base.
Director Steven Hairsine said: “The increase is the result of strong sales across core products, expansion of sales of estneed range and sales into new export markets.
“Staff numbers increased during the year due to the increased production and investment in product development and customer services.”
The headcount was up 72 on 2018, with sales, service and administration seeing the biggest increase.
It was a year that saw the Queen’s Award for Enterprise once again bestowed on the team, as well as the International Trade accolade, with overseas sales accounting for just over 5 per cent of the total. September 2019 saw its first distribution to the US.
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Nearly £6 million was spent on research and development too, up from £4 million in 2018.
The company, which has recently tweaked the name to Ideal Heating to reflect the emerging wider solutions, has just launched an environmental division. Together with city tech firm Sauce it has also ensured its systems tap into the Internet of things.
Turning to the current year, almost now closed as it aligns with the calendar, Mr Hairsine said: “The business is currently being impacted both through government restrictions on its own working practices and the operations of its customers and end customers.
“While current performance does not indicate a significant adverse effect in the long term, this could have a detrimental impact on the business’s revenues, profits and cash flows in the current year.”
Signing off in late November, with a month of trading left, Mr Hairsine said it “was not practical to reliably make a quantified estimate of its potential impact on the company” .
Manufacturing was temporarily closed during the fist lockdown, with Ideal taking advantage of the furlough scheme and deferred VAT payments.
Mr Hairsine added: “The company’s financial forecasts, taking into consideration the current environment and uncertainties, show that the company is expected to remain profitable”.
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Groupe Atlantic acquired Ideal Boilers from Belgian entity ACV in 2015. It was founded in Hull in 1906 as the National Radiator Company. The company also puts its name on the shirts of Premier League West Bromwich Albion.