Pottery giant Portmeirion is predicting a record 2021 after experiencing 'excellent' Christmas trading.
The Stoke-based company – whose brands include Spode, Royal Worcester, Pimpernel, Wax Lyrical and Nambé – has revealed that it expects 2021 sales to be at least £104 million.
This is around 10 per cent above current market expectations for the year, 18 per cent above 2020 sales of £87.9 million and 12 per cent ahead of pre-covid sales of £92.8 million in 2019.
The manufacturer says this represents the 'highest ever level of sales for the Group' which it believes has been driven by its strategy to develop new sales channels, particularly online.
Pre-tax profits for 2021 are expected to be around £7 million – up from £1.4 million in 2020 – which is nine per cent above current market expectations.
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Portmeirion chief executive Mike Raybould said: "I am delighted with the progress we have made as a business. Our sales result – approximately 12 per cent above pre-Covid highs –is a real testament to the changes we are driving through our business and the experience and efforts of our teams across the world who continue to navigate the many challenges that Covid still presents.
"The ongoing execution of our strategy allows us to reach more customers through investing in and developing online channels, launching new product and building-out new markets.
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"Although our key seasonal sales period came later than usual due to global supply chain disruption affecting availability of stock, it finished very strongly, particularly in the US market.
"We are becoming an increasingly digital business and the new capabilities we have built to drop ship online orders continue to drive our business forward and should provide further opportunities for strong growth and improve margins in the future."
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Mr Raybould added: "Each of our core markets of the 海角视频, US and South Korea have grown well in 2021. The measures we took to reduce overstocks and protect our brand in South Korea in 2019/20 have enabled a much more robust year, with strong consumer demand and expectations of further sustainable growth in coming years. We are mindful of ongoing Covid risks and their potential impact on sales markets, global supply chains and the associated cost inflation, particularly in container shipping.
"We expect further growth in 2022 and with the current uncertainty will wait to update the market with detail on the outlook for the current financial year at the time of the preliminary results in March.
"Looking forward we continue to navigate these uncertainties and remain confident in our ability to improve margins over the longer term and grow the business strongly in the future."